Yesterday Di and Margaret and I baked a selection from the Mellow Bakers
on one of our inspired Twitter bake-alongs. This time it was Grissini,
one of May's selections.
Grissini are those tall thin breadsticks that you get at Italian restaurants, served with appetizers, or sometimes just complimentary when you are seated, usually served in a pitcher or a tall glass to display their tallness, their irregular shapes, sizes, colors, and oftentimes the sprinkles that were rolled on the outside before they toasted in the oven. I happen to love Grissini, the thinner and crunchier the better!
The dough was easy to make,
no strange ingredients. It rested an hour. The Grissini were formed
(the recipe makes 24 of them) without further rising time. They
baked in the oven for about 20 minutes. Simple, easy, fun!
There were
a few options listed in the book, i.e. for garlic or cheese
variations. Garlic or cheese? Why not both? So, I made both. The
garlic ones called for roasted garlic, the ones with cheese called for freshly
grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
It was also suggested that after forming the Grissini, one could roll
each one in some of the grated cheese and black pepper, which I did
with six of them, afraid to do more in case the cheese would burn in
the oven (which it did not, so you can bet I will do more of these the
next time). Actually, the choices of things to roll the Grissini in
are pretty much up to your imagination as I can think of plenty of
other versions for the future.
The taste was wonderful, very fresh. The flavors of the garlic and cheese were truly evident as fresh flavors and not just an "essence of flavor" like the ones you can buy packaged. Guys loved them, definitely a repeat.