Name: Breadsticks
Total time: 4 h 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast; ¾ teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for brushing; ¾ cup ice water; 1½ teaspoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; ½ teaspoon fennel seeds , coarsely ground (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

While grissini can be found factory-made throughout Italy, the real deal is still handmade with care in its birthplace, Turin. More elegant than their doughy American counterparts, these airy, crisp Italian breadsticks taste purely of browned wheat, olive oil, and salt—and they're easy to make at home. The dough itself is a pizza dough, which we pulled together easily by kneading it in the food processor. Once we cut the dough into strips, we found it best to fold them in half vertically before rolling them; the doubled-up dough was less likely to break when stretched. A quick rest after folding relaxed the dough so it didn't snap back when we stretched it. Before baking, we brushed the sticks with olive oil and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and optional fennel seed. A moderate 350-degree oven delivered perfectly crisp grissini that were lightly browned from tip to tip. These hand-rolled sticks naturally have thicker and thinner spots; extra cooling and drying time (about 2 hours) ensured thicker spots became totally dry.

Instructions

Pulse flour, yeast, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses. With processor running, add oil, then ice water, and process until rough ball forms, 30 to 40 seconds. Let dough rest for 2 minutes. Process 30 seconds longer.

Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours. (Alternatively, refrigerate unrisen dough for at least 8 hours or up to 16 hours; let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before deflating.)

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine sea salt, pepper, and fennel seeds, if using, in small bowl.

Press down on dough to deflate. Transfer dough to clean counter and divide in half. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining piece covered with plastic), press and stretch dough into 12 by 8-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Using pizza cutter or chef's knife, cut dough vertically into 16 (8 by ¾-inch) strips; cover loosely with greased plastic. Fold each strip in half and gently roll into 4-inch-long log. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

On slightly damp counter, stretch and roll each log into 20-inch stick and transfer to prepared sheets. Brush sticks with oil and sprinkle with sea salt mixture. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Slide grissini, still on parchment, onto wire racks and let cool completely, about 2 hours, before serving. (Grissini can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.)