Basic olive oil breadsticks

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 cup Warm water, about 100
Degrees
2½ teaspoon Active dry yeast
3 cups Unbleached flour
2 teaspoons Salt
5 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
Cornmeal for pans

Directions

Place the water in a small bowl and whisk in yeast. Allow yeast to soften while preparing remaining ingredients.

Place flour and salt in work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse 2 or 3 times to mix. Add oil and pulse ten times to mix thoroughly. Add yeast mixture, being careful to scrape all yeast from bowl with a rubber spatula. Pulse again until the dough forms a ball, about ten more times. Let the dough rest in the work bowl for 5 minutes, then run the machine continuously for 10 seconds, for a final mixing of the dough.

Remove dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly to form a smooth ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn dough to coat all surfaces. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about an hour.

After dough has risen, remove from bowl to lightly floured work surface and knead lightly to deflate. Form dough into a ball and place in oiled bowl, turning dough to coat all surfaces. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours) before proceeding.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and set racks in upper and lower thirds.

Cover three jelly roll pans with cornmeal, using a tablespoon or so for each pan.

Scrape refrigerated dough from bowl to a lightly floured work surface, making sure dough emerges from bowl in one piece and doesn't fold.

Press dough into a 9-inch square. Cut dough into 2 rectangles, each 4½ by 9-inches. Then cut each rectangle into ½ by 4 ½-inch lengths, to make 36 pieces in all. Cover the cut pieces of dough with plastic wrap or a towel to keep them from forming a skin. One at a time, roll pieces of dough under palms of hands, stretching at the same time, to make narrow sticks about 15-inches long. If dough resists, set pieces aside under plastic wrap or towel to rest for 5 minutes, and they will roll and stretch easily.

As breadsticks are formed, arrange them in length of pan, about 10 or 12 to a pan, keeping them about ½-inch apart. Let the breadsticks rest about 10 minutes, then bake the first two pans for about 20 to 30 minutes, until they are firm, crisp and light golden. The third pan may wait while the first ones are baking. Cool the breadsticks on the pans or on racks. Store breadsticks in a paper bag or loosely covered with plastic wrap at room temperature. If they absorb humidity and soften, bake them again for 5 minutes at 325 degrees.

Yield: 36 breadsticks

COOKING LIVE SHOW #CL9050

All recipes courtesy of Nick Malgieri

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