Sourdough Grissini Twists

revisiting Italian Restaurant Breadsticks

Flashback to those early-married, on-a-tight-budget years when we occasionally splurged on a big night out by heading north to the Italian Spaghetti House on Lake City Way. The atmosphere was faux Italian, heavy on trellises with ivy and grape clusters, walls filled with colorful Mediterranean maps and murals, and candles dripping wax down twine-wrapped chianti bottles. The place felt dimly romantic, its dining room dark enough to require a lighter to illuminate the menu. 

Decades ago, before Olive Garden, Buca, Macaroni Grill, Carrabas or Maggianos came to town, this was our affordable Italian destination. The food? What did we order? maybe spaghetti with meatballs? or lasagna? I don't recall much beyond tall glasses filled with cellophane-wrapped grissini and, in later years, baskets of soft, flavorful breadsticks. What was the lure of those dry, crisp packaged grissini? Whatever the attraction, I do remember scarfing up every single one on the table, every time. That was decades ago, the restaurant long since closed and grissini have all but disappeared from food memory.

Fast forward to recent months and packaged grissini are visible again, stocked on grocery shelves all over town, at ordinary stores from Albertson's to Trader Joe's. Maybe I have just become more attentive since #TwelveLoaves focused on Italian breads for March 2015, and SourdoughSurprises invited bakers to revisit any of the previous 36 topics for this month's group post, perhaps something previously missed. Hmmm, something Italian plus a sourdough something I haven't baked before... Aha! "grissini!" It's more than time to try a batch in my galley, striving to add a bit more flavor to a homemade sourdough version of those short, crisp bread batons.

Sourdough Grissini Twists

based on a recipe from homejoys 

This recipe makes one dozen grissini

1/2 cup sourdough starter, fed and rested
1/2 cup A/P flour (plus more as needed to knead)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked salt omit in future
1/4 teaspoon Italian herb mix (Penzeys, Ltd.)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Toppings: I used Gourmet Garden's Italian Herbs paste for half of the dough; a homemade Za'atar mix for the remainder. (sumac, thyme, sesame seed, sea salt and coarse ground black pepper)

1. Combine all ingredients except the toppings and mix well to combine. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. 
   
2. Turn out onto a well-floured board and knead until soft and smooth, about 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour sparingly as needed (note: the dough should remain moist and soft). Place in a greased bowl, cover loosely and let rise for at least 3 hours. Every hour gently fold and turn the dough to encourage the gluten to stretch.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking sheets (silpats). 
4. Roll or press the dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Spread with the filling(s) of your choice. Use a pizza cutter (straight edge optional) to slice the dough crosswise into even strips.
   
5. Gently twist and stretch each strip; place on the prepared baking sheets and press down the ends to prevent any un-twisting.
   
    
6. Place in the preheated oven and bake until lightly browned, about 25-28 minutes depending on the thickness of your dough. Keep a careful watch during the last few minutes; grissini can go from undercooked to burnt very quickly. Cool completely before serving.     

Results:
Taste: The smoked salt flavor was not discernible, adding nothing remotely smoky to the dough, so I'll skip it in the future. Italian Herb paste won top honors as the preferred filling. These grissini were especially popular when dipped in a balsamic vinegar and olive oil mix. 

The z'atar-filled grissini were a disappointment, boring in comparison with the herb paste favorites. However, wrapped in fennel-flavored salami these bland grissini upped their popularity considerably!

  
Texture: Pan A, baked for 28 minutes produced a pleasantly crisp baton, cracker-like in texture, and much preferred over Pan B's softer, almost pizza-crust bite from a 25 minute cook. Pan A went directly into the oven while Pan B rested for 30 minutes. No significant rise or oven spring was noted for either pan; these grissini were crisp and chewy, not light and airy. I might roll the dough thicker next time to see how/if it impacts the texture, or try an overnight first rise, or even add a bit of commercial yeast for comparison.   

Appearance: Visuals do matter! I love the twisted version of these grissini rather than the smooth breadstick log of memory. The herb paste's vibrant green color pop set my taste buds tingling even before the first bite, and it really delivered on flavor. 

Sesame seeds in the za-atar filling shyly hinted at a flavor treat, but failed to deliver. This filling was upstaged by the herb paste in both appearance and taste. This surprised me since za'atar has been a hit as a focaccia dough ingredient; evidently it loses flavor impact when scattered on top. 

Today's small trial batch worked for an afternoon snack, but I'll make a double recipe soon. Grissini are tempting as a standalone item, but will really shine when paired with a bowl of soup, something hearty like Tuscan White Bean Soup or Italian Mushroom Soup or maybe Minestrone. 

Some things never change - I'll still want to scarf up every grissini on the table!  

submitted to #SourdoughSurprises and #TwelveLoaves for March 2015 

An InLinkz Link-up

Pumpkin Porter Pita Bread

baked for the Twelve Loaves November 2014 pumpkin theme. 

As noted in an earlier post, I don't eat pumpkin, not pumpkin anything. Forget the traditional pumpkin favorites of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, pumpkin bundt cakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes... really, I mean it, not pumpkin anything. Match that with my love of a challenge and my frugal nature and you can imagine the issue when I found one last bottle of Alaskan Pumpkin Porter hanging out on a garage shelf. I couldn't throw it out. Left over from an earlier Autumn event that bottle sat ignored and gathering dust amidst newly purchased beverages. Though guests reported the brew to be quite tasty, I just couldn't get past the ingredient list of "ale brewed with pumpkin, brown sugar and spices". 

Today I finally popped the top and poured a glass for a taste test. Surprise! The first exploratory sip was fairly pleasant; this was a dark, chewy porter with some flavor muscle and a hint of sweet, undefinable something, a something not pumpkin. Fine, but at 9:20 a.m. what else could I do with the brew besides drink it? Use it in soup or a stew? Bake beer batter brownies? Braise some pulled pork? The Beeroness came to the rescue with her recipe for Homemade Beer Pita Bread, a quick yeast bread that reminded me of this month's #TwelveLoaves baking theme - Pumpkin.  

My KitchenAid made short work of mixing the few ingredients and cranking out the requisite minutes of kneading. The dough ball doubled in under an hour in my 67 degree F kitchen, no surprise since a full package of yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) was working away on 2 1/4 cups of flour. Divided into eight pieces, the dough rolled easily into six-inch disks - how easy could it be?! 

Each Pita round cooked in mere minutes in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop and bubbles appeared like magic. I'd make a double batch next time just for the fun of watching those gas bubbles puff up and expand.
   

I eagerly tore apart the first pita, checking first for easy separation of top and bottom. Success! Next came a tentative nibble, taste testing for any pumpkin flavor. Nope, not even a hint of the dreaded pumpkin taste, just a pleasant, semi-sour tang. Finally I added a slather of butter and a sprinkle of sea salt to the still warm pita and finished it off, quite pleased with the non-pumpkin tasting Pumpkin Porter Pitas. They made terrific lunch sandwich containers, firmly chewy and holding together up to the last bite. 

Would this be pumpkiny enough to qualify for the November #twelveloaves baking challenge? More pumpkiny than my pepita-topped sourdough dinner rolls (link)? Maybe... we'll see what that group of inspired bakers thinks (if anyone leaves a comment).

Alaskan Pumpkin Porter Pita Bread

adapted from a recipe on thebeeroness.com

Yield: 8 six-inch pita rounds

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1 cup Alaskan Pumpkin Porter
1 tsp salt

1. Use a stand mixer with a dough hook; add the flour, yeast and pumpkin spice (if using) and mix until combined.
2. Pour the beer into a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds; use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature; nuke in short burst until the beer just reaches 120 to 125 degrees F. No higher or you might kill the yeast.
3. Add the warmed beer to the stand mixer; use medium speed and mix to combine. Add the salt while the mixer is running.
4. Bump the speed to high and beat until the dough is well-kneaded, smooth and pliable, about 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Remove dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let sit in a warm space until doubled in size. This might take up to an hour.
6. When doubled, place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Use a bench scraper and cut into 8 equal pieces.
7. Roll a piece of dough into a 6-inch circle. One at a time repeat with the remaining pieces.
8. Use a small cast iron skillet; lightly oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add one rolled dough circle to the pan and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and air bubbles pop the top in places, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for another 1 to 2 minutes to cook the pita through.

Note: If the pita browns too quickly, threatening to burn, turn the heat down or use a flame tamer (heat diffuser) to adjust the heat.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and run with the help of Heather of girlichef, which runs smoothly with the help of our bakers. Our host this month is Renee from Kudos Kitchen by Renee, and our theme is Pumpkin. For more bread recipes, visit the #TwelveLoaves Pinterest board, or check out last month’s tempting selection of #TwelveLoaves Apple Breads!

Apple-licious Brown Bread

It's apple season; time to make applesauce, rustic apple pie, apple sweet rolls, apple crepes, apple pancakes, apple coffee cake, apple quick bread, apple torte, everything apple! It seemed a good time to try apples in Boston brown bread. Why brown bread? Why not, I've never made it before and it does seem to fit the season.

I found a recipe for Steamed Brown Bread in Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book, a 1961 volume older than some of my friends, and compared it with a 2014 recipe for Easy Boston Brown Bread found online at seriouseats.com. The ingredients in the two versions were remarkably similar, calling for a mixture of flours including cornmeal and whole wheat, baking soda, buttermilk and molasses. The BIG difference was in the suggested steaming times, 3 hours versus 35 minutes. Wow! Granted the specified container sizes varied from 1-1b coffee cans to 14-oz food cans, but that's still a puzzling time variance. It didn't matter since I confused things further by making a half-recipe in a 28-oz can (left from the hominy I used in this week's posole). OK, forget the math, I would guesstimate the timing.   

Photo: 14-oz can vs 28-oz can, with corresponding height difference as well.

The online recipe became the starting point, with a few tweaks and the addition of one coarsely-grated Fuji apple and some Penzey's Apple Pie Spice. After grating the apple, I squeezed out the excess liquid and let the shreds sit in a strainer while prepping the other ingredients. Some 2% milk plus one tablespoon of white vinegar substituted for buttermilk; it clumped and thickened while the grated apple drained. I used regular rather than blackstrap molasses and whole wheat flour instead of rye flour. 

The recipe recommended steaming the batter in foil-covered cans set in a lidded pot of simmering water until the bread "set and gently pulled away from sides of can, about 35 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center should come out with moist crumbs." Essentially if you can simmer water, you can make brown bread.

The bread did pull away from the sides of the can after 35 minutes, but the skewer came out heavily coated. I left the can in the simmering water for another 15 minutes before moving it onto a cooling rack.

On day one the brown bread was quite moist, almost too moist according to RL, but the flavor was rewardingly deep and tangy. The apples lurked in the background with no overwhelming appleness in taste or texture, but the cinnamon and nutmeg from the added apple pie spice blend hinted at apple pie. Nonetheless, the result was a huge improvement over any grocery store can of brown bread. 

Breakfast on day two included thick slices of the brown bread, crisped up under the broiler and slathered with softened cream cheese. Delicious! and now it's time to empty some more cans and make another batch, a double batch this time with a little less molasses. Apple Brown Bread was indeed, an Apple-licious treat.

  

Apple Brown Bread

based on a recipe from seriouseats

1 very large or 2 medium apples, shredded and drained in a strainer
1 cup buttermilk (or vinegar soured milk)

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup medium-grind cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp Apple Pie Spice

2/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon flour (to coat the apple shreds)
Apple butter or cream cheese to serve alongside

Directions:
Shred the apple(s), squeeze to remove juices, and place in a strainer to drain. 
Prepare the vinegar-soured milk if using.
Grease 3 squeaky clean 14-oz cans.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Toss the apple shreds with the tablespoon of flour to coat and add to the bowl. 
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter between the cans. Drape a square of foil over each can and press to fit firmly. Set cans on a rack in a large pot and fill with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of each can.

Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the water simmers, reduce heat to low and simmer until breads are set and pull away from the sides of the can. Test with a skewer inserted into the center after 35 minutes; the skewer should come out with moist crumbs. 

Remove cans from the pot of water and place on a baking rack. Remove the foil and let cool in the can. Run a knife around the inside of the can to loosen the bread; turn the can upside down and tap it to remove the bread.

Cut thick slices and serve with apple butter or cream cheese. Optional: Toast under a broiler to reheat and firm up top and bottom. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts for an appetizer serving.

Submitted to #TwelveLoaves:

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and run with the help of Heather of girlichef, which runs smoothly with the help of our bakers. Our host this month is Heather from girlichef, and our theme is Apples. For more bread recipes, visit the #TwelveLoaves Pinterest board, or check out last month’s mouthwatering selection of #TwelveLoaves Pear Breads! 

Fresh-Herb Flatbread

#TwelveLoaves: Summer Herbs

This flatbread recipe began with an unscheduled visit to the old Goose Bay Cannery in Rivers Inlet. The cannery ceased operation in 1957 but the building complex remained. The site functioned as a fishing lodge for a period after that, but that venture closed and the site seemed destined to end up as just one more crumbling historic ruin. 

Enter a group of Burnaby, B.C. firemen who purchased the cannery ten years ago and have given the place a new life. Some Vancouver, B.C. firemen joined the group and I believe the ownership has now expanded to 27 members. The new owners undertook an impressive rescue and restoration project, both structural and cosmetic. The visible exterior changes range from restored boardwalks, new piling, a covered ramp to a huge concrete floating dock, roofing and siding repair and fresh paint everywhere you look. The visible improvements barely hint at the energy and effort involved in restoring the cannery complex.

We arrived at the site late in the day, an impromptu stop following a waterside photo shoot of the cannery. We accepted an invitation to tie up and tour the site (thank you, Ray and Tom) and join a group of visiting firemen and friends for dinner. My small taco salad-for-two was a puny contribution to the meal as we dined on scrumptious Firehouse lamb burgers, tiny red potatoes, fresh sweet corn and a giant Caesar salad. At least our box of red wine was a welcome last-minute addition to the menu.

How could we say thank you for such generous sharing? - with a little home cooking, of course. The visiting firemen filled their day with fishing and hiking, and had their entire trip menu well planned in advance, though their meal schedule seemed more… well, random and spontaneous. Flatbread was a perfect choice since fresh bread works, either as an anytime appetizer or snack or accompanying a meal. Pull it apart, dip a chunk in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and it’s heavenly. Slather a sliced baton with butter if that’s your thing. Eat a wedge plain and let the flavorful herbs shine in every bite. Cut a square and slice it horizontally to use for a sturdy, flavorful Panini base. Try a savory bread pudding. The possibilities are endless.

I formed four flatbreads using a basic pizza/focaccia dough recipe plus flavored olive oil and a bouquet of mixed herbs. Pitted Kalamata olives topped two of the loaves, an impulsive last-minute addition. We had to sample one loaf, ostensibly to check the timing and to taste-test before sharing. Success! The bread smelled heavenly, its fragrant aroma perfumed the galley and our entire end of the dock. As for the taste, well we ate the whole thing... slice by slice... one after another... until it was gone. No adjustments required on timing or ingredients.  

The three remaining loaves, still warm from the oven, were enthusiastically received by a few of the sailboat crew. As I walked away I heard them debating whether to enjoy them right away with a glass of wine, or wait and share them with the rest of the guys when they returned from fishing. We left the dock at dawn the next morning, before anyone else stirred, so I don’t know if the flatbread was a hit or a miss. I’ll assume the best; after all, who can resist fresh bread? At least I never saw any bread chunks floating in the saltwater.

Update 3/30/2014: Rod (a dock neighbor at the Goose Bay Cannery) caught up with us in Campbell River and reported the flatbread was delicious with the guys' late night seafood chowder dinner, and greatly appreciated. I guess the herbs made it a hit, not a miss.

Flatbread with Fresh Herbs

yields 4 small loaves

Ingredients

2 pkg (1/4 oz each) dry yeast

1 ½ cups warm water (abut 115 F)

1 tsp sugar

1 ½ cups AP white flour

1 ½ cups semolina flour

1 tsp salt

2 TB herb-floavored extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup assorted fresh herbs, chopped (I used oregano, thyme, Italian parsley)

Additional all-purpose flour as needed

More flavored olive oil and any toppings of your choice (optional) 

Directions

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sugar and the AP flour. Beat vigorously for 1 minute. Dough should be the consistency of a thick cake batter.

Cover lightly with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm spot until bubbles and lightens, usually 30 to 40 minutes. 

At the end of 30 minutes, stir dough and add the semolina flour, salt, and flavored olive oil. Mix well. Place dough on a floured surface and knead well for about 8 minutes, adding just enough additional AP flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Form the dough into four balls. At this point, you can freeze the dough for later use or make it into flatbread immediately.

Roll or press a dough ball into an oval about 1/2 inch thick. If dough resists, let it rest for a few seconds, then continue shaping. Each ball should make a 12-to-13 inch flatbread. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet; brush lightly with seasoned olive oil and add any optional toppings. Prick here and there with a fork to minimize gas bubbles. Repeat with remaining dough balls - you will need a second prepared baking sheet. Let the loaves rest until dough lightens a bit.

 

Bake in the middle of a preheated 450 degree F oven until top and bottom crusts are golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack

Note: 8/29/14
I have submitted this to #TwelveLoaves, my very last-minute link to recipes from an inspiring group of bakers who work with a different theme each month. The August 2014 theme is Summer Herbs. This month our hostess is Sherron from Simply Gourmet.