Crunchy and tasty,grissini are among the best-known and best-loved recipes among Italians. ThegrissiniTorino were born in the second half of the 17th century in Turin thanks to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, the future king of Sardinia, who, intolerant to bread crumbs, needed a more digestible bread product: the court bakers immediately set to work creating a product with a taste and fragrance then unknown,el ghersin. Since then, thegrissini have conquered every palate: Napoleon Bonaparte was so fond of them that he set up a shipping service to receive them directly from Turin!
Their fame was not limited to Italian borders, soon expanding all over the world, and today breadsticks are appreciated for their lightness and versatility, both as a snack and as an accompaniment to various dishes.
And now... let's start kneading!"
BREADSTICK WITH BIGA: INGREDIENTS
BIGA (12-18 hours at temperature 18°-20°C)
- 400 g flour W250-280
- 180 g water
- 4 g brewer's yeast
GRISSINI
- 100 g flour W250-280
- 50 g extra virgin olive oil
- 5 g barley malt (or sugar)
- 2 g yeast
- 11 g salt
- Water:
stretched grissini = for a dry dough 60-70 g water (48-50% of total flour)
rolled grissini = for a soft dough 95-120 g water (55-60% of total flour)
PROCEDURE: THE BIGA
Labiga is a pre-dough used for leavened goods by the indirect method and is made by mixing flour, water and brewer's yeast that are left to ferment for a period of time ranging from 12 hours (short ring) to 48 hours (long ring).
- Pour the flour, yeast and water into a bowl.
- Work the ingredients until the dough is smooth: the dough should not be kneaded for a long time, but just enough to make a loaf.
- Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 12-18hours.
PROCEDURE: BREADSTICKS
Once the bigna is ready, we can proceed with making breadsticks.
- In a bowl combine flour, yeast, barley malt (or sugar) and salt. Add room-temperature water and oil and mix everything together with a fork.
- When the dough starts to thicken, add the bigna and start kneading with your hands.
- When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, place it on a surface previously dusted with coarse-grain flour (semolina, corn, kamut, etc...), lightly grease the surface, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in volume.
- Take off the plastic wrap and dust the surface with a layer of flour.
5. It's time to make breadsticks! You can make them two ways: with our manual grissinatrices orelectric, or by hand. Cut withsteel squeegee 2cm wide strips of dough and stretch them by pulling them from the edges to a thickness that should be uniform along the entire length of the breadstick of 1-1.5 cm (this operation requires a little dexterity in order to obtain an even thickness). Place the dough strip on a baking sheet and press the sides slightly so that they stick and do not shrink.
6. At this point you can: bake immediately and get firm, crisp breadsticks, or let them rise for 45-50 min to make them crispier.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 170-180°C for 20min. After the first 20min has passed, lower the oven to 140°C, leaving the oven door slightly open to let the steam escape for another 20min.
Let them cool and serve! Thegrissini can be stored in a jar or tin for 2-3 days, after this time they will begin to lose their crunchiness.
