This week, we are lucky enough to be house (and cat) sitting at my mum and dad’s place, while they are holidaying in Tasmania. We don’t move into our new place until Sunday, so this has been an excellent (and mutually beneficial) arrangement. The only down side? Mum and dad’s place has been afflicted with the WORST INTERNET EVER. It’s definitely not the plan they are on, it’s just really old copper with no other options. I know this is a total first world problem, but it was so slow, that we couldn’t even get websites to open, let alone load and view them. Never fear, Key came to the rescue with a pre-paid wifi thingymajig and now 4G feels plenty fast enough to do some blogging and general internetting (I have decided that internetting should be a verb) Anyway, enough of my whining, let’s talk about grissini. These grissini are a really easy, yeasted breadstick. They are great to use as a dipper or served with some soup or salad. The recipe is pretty straight forward and is actually based on my pretzel recipe. As per usual, you do need to activate your yeast and ensure that it is still alive. The dough will definitely rise after resting, but maybe not as much as other bread recipes, because it’s a fairly small quantity of yeast. Portion the dough into 12 equal pieces by rolling it into a log shape then halving and halving again until 12 pieces have been made. A dough or pastry cutter, like the one pictured above, makes this an easy job, but a knife will work fine too. Roll and stretch each portion into 12 long sticks and then place them onto the lined baking tray. Sprinkle with smoked or normal sea salt. They just need a quick bake and are ready when they are browned and crisp. E il gioco è fatto, grissini Grissini with Smoked Salt Ingredients – Makes about 12 small breadsticks ¼ cup of milk ½ tsp of fine, white sugar ½ tsp of honey ½ tsp of dried, instant yeast ½ cup of plain flour plus extra for dusting ¼ tsp of fine salt Smoked sea salt for sprinkling Olive oil for brushing Directions Place the milk, sugar and honey into a mug, or microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 15 seconds, or until the water is close to 40°C. Stir it briskly to ensure the honey is melted and then stir in the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the yeast is frothy and has activated. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour and fine salt and once the yeast mix has activated, add that too. Stir until a dough starts to form and then knead for just 1 minute, either in your floured hands, or with lightly floured hands on a floured surface. Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. Lightly oil the same mixing bowl and then let the dough ball rest in it, covered, for 1 hour or until the size has increased. Once the dough has rested, preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking try with baking paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and portion into 12 equal pieces by rolling into a log shape then halving and halving again until 12 pieces have been made. Roll and stretch each portion into 12 long sticks or thin log shapes then place them onto the lined baking tray. Lightly brush each grissini with some olive oil and then sprinkle over some smoked sea salt. Bake for 13 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool on a rack. Best eaten on the same say as made. Great served with soup, a dip or with a cheese platter.
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