Crusty Outside, Soft Inside: Bread Sticks Are A Hit

Jan 17, 1990

Larry Brown

THEORIES AND JOKES ABOUND about why Emperor Napoleon tucked his right hand into his vest for his famous official portrait.

Here's mine:

Knowing that court painter Jacques Louis David was very slow and very precise, Napoleon secreted away a few bread sticks to stave off the hungries during posing. The 1810 painting, on view at the National Gallery of Art, shows him caught in the betcha-can't-eat-just-one act.

Historians agree that the emperor was bonkers over the bread sticks created in Turin, Italy. Such a fan, in fact, that he arranged to have them transported to court every day.

No wonder. Everyone - from prince to pauper - has been enjoying these slim, crusty bread wands since the 17th century.

When Gary and Gwen Galeotti of Mercer Island celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a party, they opened many gifts, including several appropriately crafted of silver, that were passed around for guests to admire. But when Gary unwrapped the package of Pete DeLaurenti, patriarch of DeLaurenti's specialty food markets, and saw that it contained Pete's homemade bread sticks, he swiftly placed them behind the sofa and responded to requests for sampling with ``No way.''

Some things are just too special to share.

The factory-made bread sticks trapped in plastic wrappers are serviceable and popular at Italian restaurants throughout the world. But homemade sticks are so much better - crusty exteriors and soft interiors, irregular shapes, a rustic quality that borders on irresistable.

Known as grissini in Italy, some Italians even eat bread sticks for breakfast, with milk or coffee. Carol Field describes how the Turin bakers have been making them for centuries in her cookbook, ``The Italian Baker'':

``Real grissini are shaped between the hands by gently vibrating and stretching the dough to about the span of the baker's arms, and are then baked directly on the floor of a wood-burning oven. They are as thick and irregular as knobby fingers and look like cordwood when stacked. They have crunch and an earthy taste.''

To fit home ovens here, it's more practical to make bread sticks about 10 inches long.

The basic dough is made with yeast, water, honey, olive oil and flour. You knead it for 10 minutes, roll it on a lightly floured board into a rectangle, brush with oil, then blanket it with a towel and let it nap for 1 hour. Field's suggestions for shaping are:

-- Sprinkle the dough with semolina flour before cutting and stretching.

-- Cut the dough crosswise into 4 equal sections, then cut each section crosswise again into 5 strips, each about the width of a fat finger.

-- Cover baking pans with aluminum foil. Unless the baking sheets are rimless, its easier to use the bottoms of the pans. Lightly brush foil with olive oil.

-- The dough is so elastic that you can simply pick up the ends of each piece and shake to stretch to about 10 inches in length. Place the bread sticks on the foil about 1 inch apart.

Use your imagination and today's recipes to add variety to the traditional plain bread sticks. You can sprinkle the dough with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. You can incorporate into the dough such flavorful ingredients as green olives, parsley, paprika, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, green peppercorns and shallots.

Stuffed upright into an attractive glass, bowl or pitcher on your dining table, your homemade bread sticks will make a great edible centerpiece. Just don't expect them to last as long as a bouquet of tulips.

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Bread-stick recipe

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The following recipe is from ``The Italian Baker'' by Carol Fields.

Plain Bread Sticks

20 bread sticks

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon semolina flour

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water and honey. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the flour and salt, stirring until the dough comes together. Knead on a lightly floured surface 10 minutes. (If using an electric mixer, knead with the dough hook 3 minutes.)

2. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 6-by-14-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Lightly brush the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon oil, cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.

3. Line several baking sheets with aluminum foil and brush with the remaining oil. Sprinkle the dough with the semolina flour. To shape the bread sticks, cut the dough crosswise into 4 pieces; then cut each section crosswise into 5 strips. Pick up the ends of each piece and shake to stretch to about a 10-inch length.

4. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes. Cool on racks.

Data per serving

Calories 117

Protein 3g

Fat 3g

Carbohydrates 20g

Sodium 161mg

Saturated fat 0g

Monounsaturated fat 2g

Polyunsaturated fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

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Olive bread sticks

20 bread sticks

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water, about 110 degrees

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons minced green olives

4 tablespoons minced parsley

Paprika

1 tablespoon semolina flour

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water and honey. Let stand 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the flour, salt, green olives and parsley, stirring until the dough comes together. Knead on a lightly floured surface 10 minutes. (If using an electric mixer, knead 3 minutes with a dough hook.)

2. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 6-by-14-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Lightly brush the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon oil, cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.

3. Line several baking sheets with aluminum foil and brush with the remaining oil. Sprinkle the dough lightly with paprika and the semolina flour. To shape the bread sticks, cut the dough crosswise into 4 pieces; then cut each section crosswise into 5 strips. Pick up the ends of each piece and shake to stretch to about a 10-inch length.

4. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 20 minutes. Cool on racks.

Data per serving

Calories 121

Protein 3g

Fat 3g

Carbohydrates 20g

Sodium 233mg

Saturated fat 0g

Monounsaturated fat 2g

Polyunsaturated fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

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Sun-Dried-Tomato

and Garlic bread sticks

20 bread sticks

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water, about 110 degrees

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tablespoon semolina flour

1. In a large bowl combine the yeast, water and honey. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons oil. Add the flour, salt and tomatoes; force the garlic through a press into the dough. Stir until the dough holds together. Knead on a lightly floured surface 10 minutes.

2. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 6-by-14-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Lightly brush the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon oil, cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.

4. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 20 minutes. Cool on racks.

Note: For plain garlic bread sticks, omit the tomatoes from this recipe.

Data per serving

Calories 131

Protein 3g

Fat 3g

Carbohydrates 22g

Sodium 165mg

Saturated fat 0g

Monounsaturated fat 2g

Polyunsaturated fat 1g

Cholesterol 0mg

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Green Peppercorn-Shallot

bread sticks

20 bread sticks

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water, about 110 degrees

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons green peppercorns packed in brine, drained and patted dry

4 tablespoons minced shallots

1 tablespoon semolina flour

1. In a large bowl combine the yeast, water and honey. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons oil. Add the flour, salt, green peppercorns and shallots, stirring until the dough holds together. Knead on a lightly floured surface, about 10 minutes. (If using an electric mixer, knead with a dough hook 3 minutes.)

2. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 6-by-14-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Lightly brush the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon oil, cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.

3. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and brush with the remaining oil. Sprinkle the dough with the semolina flour. To shape the bread sticks, cut the dough crosswise into 4 pieces; then cut each section crosswise into 5 strips. Pick up the ends of each piece and shake to stretch to about a 10-inch length.

4. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 20 minutes. Cool on racks.

Data per serving

Calories 119

Protein 3g

Fat 3g

Carbohydrates 20g

Sodium 161mg

Saturated fat 0g

Monounsaturated fat 2g

Polyunsaturated fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

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Parmesan-Pine Nut Bread Sticks

20 bread sticks

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water, about 110 degrees

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

4 tablespoons coarsely chopped pine nuts

1 tablespoon semolina flour

1. In a large bowl combine the yeast, water and honey. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the flour, salt, basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan and the pine nuts, stirring until the dough comes together. Knead on a lightly floured surface 10 minutes. (If using an electric mixer, knead with a dough hook 3 minutes.)

2. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 6-by-14-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Lightly brush the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon oil, cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.

3. Line several baking sheets with aluminum foil and brush with the remaining oil. Sprinkle the dough lightly with 1/4 cup Parmesan and the semolina flour. To shape the bread sticks, cut the dough crosswise into 4 pieces; then cut each section crosswise into 5 strips. Pick up the ends of each piece and shake to stretch to about a 10-inch length.

4. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 20 minutes. Cool on racks.

Data per serving

Calories 136

Protein 4g

Fat 5g

Carbohydrates 20g

Sodium 130mg

Saturated fat 1g

Monounsaturated fat 3g

Polyunsaturated fat 1g

Cholesterol 2mg