Italian Breadsticks 6/325

The Relation

Susie Wilkinson Degnan is the daughter of Martha Weber Wilkinson (Mart), who is the sister of my great-grandmother, Gertrude Weber Gassmann. Susie and my grandfather were cousins, which would make Susie, my first cousin, twice-removed and Mart would be my great-great-aunt. All of this has been confirmed by Cousin Kathleen (George>Martha>Susie). Please note my father has now asked me if the only reason I call him is to ask him who the people who make these recipes are in relation to me (it is not).

The Process

150 Strokes Later...

If you know me, you know that carbs - particularly bread - are my kryptonite. I have, on multiple occasions, gone to Panera Bread, bought a baguette and eaten the whole thing myself in one sitting. However, I have never made bread. The whole "yeast" and "let rise" concepts always confused me. Making these breadsticks was a learning experience for sure.

My first batch of dough was - to say the least - a failure. I left out the 1/4 cup of olive oil and only noticed after I had started rolling out the little dough noodles. I know, I know - I had clearly been chugging the dumb bitch juice that day. I threw out the batch and tried again (while Roommate Lora looked on, cackling at my stupidity).

Dough Worms

The recipe calls for 100 strokes to mix, I ended up doing closer to 150 (yes, I counted). And after such a specific request, Susie tells us to add flour until "easy to handle". My definition of easy to handle can certainly not be the same as everyone else's. I used approximately an additional cup of flour until it was mildly sticking to my fingers still (but not obnoxiously so).

I watched a video on kneading dough so I could perfect my technique. I've kneaded cookie dough before, but I learned how to do that at the same point in my life I took pottery lessons, so I often get confused on which technique of handling is for clay and which is for dough. For those of you who have never kneaded dough, it is a workout. Post-knead-sesh, I definitely recommend some stretching.

I don't know the ethics of cutting dough, but I did it anyway. Making 32 perfectly equal sections of dough was going to be hard whether or not I put a blade to it, so I figured might as well. I cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and then rolled them into little tubes. Each of these tubes I cut in half once, and then again. So I ended up with 32 equal(ish) dough balls.

2nd Batch vs. 1st Batch

Then I got to work on making little worms out of each of those balls. This was harder than I thought it would be. Using your hands to roll them out is probably the best method, but fingers are not the evenest surface. I ended up having pretty uneven breadsticks. Oh man, and then I got out the plastic wrap. Susie doesn't tell us what to cover the pans with, but I have watched enough of The Great British Baking Show to know that saran wrap seems to be the move. And let's just say plastic wrap and I do not get along very well.

In my head, the sticks would triple or quadruple in size when they had risen (truthfully, I was hoping they would end up like the breadsticks at Olive Garden). That is not what happened. They were almost the exact same size 20 minutes later, and only mildly largest after they took their first voyage into the oven.

My first batch came out with almost every breadstick having scorch marks on them. I took them right out at 20 minutes. In my second attempt, I took them out at 17 minutes and they were much better.

The Feedback

Could be fluffier but okay.

Nothing against Susie, but I did not like these breadsticks. This is entirely because I thought they were going to be big fluffy breadsticks and not skinny, crunchy ones. So, my real fight is with Italian breadsticks overall. I just really think bread should be soft #ChangeMyMind.

But! Everyone else who tried them was a big fan. Fellow climbing gym members gobbled them up and I was left with an empty tin. I did have to toss out the overdone pan. They were not coming back to life after that much time in the sun. I also made one batch where I doubled the size of the breadsticks, where I was able to enjoy the soft bread we all know and love.

The Recipe

ITALIAN BREADSTICKS       CC80
Susie Degnan

1 package active dry yeast
⅔ cup warm (105°-115°) water
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ cup salad oil
2¼ cups flour
Oil
1 egg white
Course salt
1 Tbs water

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar, salt, oil and 1 cup flour. Beat until smooth – about 100 strokes. Stir in enough of the remaining flour so that the dough is easy to handle. Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead 5 minutes. Divide into 32 equal parts. Roll each into a rope – 8” long for a thick breadstick, 10” long for a thin one. Place on greased baking sheet 1” apart. Brush with oil and cover. Let rise for 20 minutes. Heat oven to 350°. Beat egg white and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush on sticks and sprinkle with course salt. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool on wire rack.