Sara is: Relaxing

Lazy sunday, and I have an interesting post topic for you. Grissini! These thin, crispy Italian style breadsticks are pretty popular at work right now, and I've had a lot of requests for the recipe from friends who've tried them. The dough is relatively simple. The shaping, a little less so. I wouldn't say it's difficult, so much as just tedious if you need to make more than a few. (As is almost always my case.)
The dough itself is very versatile, and can be flavored in any number of ways, whether you like them Italian style or more plain, or even spicy, as I sometimes do. Herbs, black pepper, curry powder or paste, harissa, garlic, and some cheeses make delicious additions, as well as almost any other spice or flavoring you might be able to think of. I think it would even be fun to make a few pumpernickle by adding cocoa powder and caraway seeds, but I haven't tested that theory as of yet. They are also tender and crackery enough that they would make an interesting pocky, if you sweetened the dough and dipped it in chocolate. Though for that you may need to roll them thinner.
Anyway, on to the recipe.

Yeild: Approximately 40

Equipment wise, you will need:

A stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook.
(You probably could knead them by hand, but for optimal texture, I think I mixer is best.)
Measuring tools
A couple of cookie sheets
A pastry brush
A rolling pin
A sharp knife, or a pizza cutter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup tepid water, approximately skin temp. It should not feel too warm.
1 packet of dry yeast
1 teaspoon of honey
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup "OO" flour**
2 tablespoons fat, plus extra for brushing (Butter, olive oil, whichever you like the taste of best. If you use butter, melt it.)
1 teaspoon of salt
Flavorings, optional, and to your taste

Procedure:

In the clean bowl fitted to your mixer combine yeast, water and honey. Stir gently, and allow to sit in a warm place until the yeast foams and rises to the surface. 5 to 10 minutes. If in this time you see no yeast activity, discard it and buy fresher yeast! Then start again.
To the yeast mixture, all the flours and begin mixing with the dough hook on low speed until combined. Add salt and fat and mix on medium speed until your dough is elastic and smooth. (Perfectly mixed dough is one of my all time favourite things to touch.)
Remove the dough from the bowl and wipe it clean, rinsing if need be. Dry, and add a thin layer of oil. Return dough to the bowl, and wrap with plastic or cover with a clean moistened towel and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled.
When dough is ready, punch down and knead gently to incorporate excess oil. You may need a small amount of flour. Allow to rest for five to ten minutes to relax glutens. Using the rolling pin, roll your dough slowly, allowing it to rest now and then to keep the glutens relaxed. Roll into a large rectangle. It should be thin and stretchy, not snapping back if stretched. At this point, allow your rectangle to rest until it is slightly puffed and feels smooth and dry.

Once ready, cut your dough with a knife or pizza cutter width-wise, into half inch strips.

Like so.

Using your fingers, roll each strip gently until you've formed a stick a few inches shorter than the length of your sheet pan. I like to use three spread fingers in the center of the strip, and then roll outward. If you try to stretch them too quickly they may break. But they'll go back together.

Place each strip on your baking sheet, and brush them with your chosen fat. Sprinkle with a little salt, or a spice, if you chose to use one. And bake at 350 until lightly golden.
I know it seems like a lengthy procedure, but really, as far as breads go, it's not too bad. Try them!

mmm..

** A flour made of soft wheat available in some specialty stores. If you can't find it, you could use all AP, but the texture will be a bit firmer. No worries. :D