Rosemary Grissini #TwelveLoaves

Oh, this has been a doozy of a week weather-wise. It has been pouring! And I mean POURING! I never thought I’d get to baking my rosemary grissini. I kept saying, “Tomorrow I’ll bake them!”

That tomorrow never came. The weather was awful and when there was a break from the rain and the sun peaked out, I didn’t have the dough ready. So I finally just made the dough and I figured that, rain or shine, these grissini would be baked!

Did it rain the day I baked them (which was yesterday…boy, did I procrastinate!). YES! For goodness sake, it was a deluge. I even went outside in vain at one point to try to get a photo in “natural” light and the drops were dripping on my baking pan. But somehow, I managed to get a few shots.

So I really wanted these to be sassy and sophisticated grissini. YOU know…those really thin and pretty ones that look so elegant sitting next to a plate of prosciutto di Parma and some really great cheese. Obviously, that didn’t happen!

And, my husband even reminded me…

They’re really good, he told me. Then he said, “They’re supposed to be tinner.” Hey, he has a heavy Italian accent so thin is tin most of the times.

No, they weren’t ‘tin’ grissini. They were on the thicker side and they were just LOVELY! Really, so good! I made cauliflower soup, because as I mentioned, it was raining buckets! And because I honestly had no clue what to make for dinner besides these grissini. It was also because I  didn’t happen to have any prosciutto di Parma to go along with them! We had soup and we had grissini (the “ticker” kind) and it was raining and it was not even chilly and it was all so wonderful!

This baking adventure of bread and summer herbs is for our #TwelveLoaves August challenge!

#TwelveLoaves is a bread baking group I started over 2 years ago!
#TwelveLoaves runs smoothly with the help of our friends. A huge thanks to our hostess Sherron from Simply Gourmet!

Here is what the amazing #TwelveLoaves bakers created this month with Summer Herbs!

I followed this recipe from The Kitchn

 Rosemary Grissini

1. 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
2. 3/4 cup warm water
3. 1 teaspoon honey
4. 1 package (1 scant tablespoon) active-dry yeast
5. 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6. 3 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8. 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
9. Oil for the bowl

1. In
   the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the whole wheat flour, water, honey
   and yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine and let sit for 10
   minutes. The mixture will be foamy when it’s ready.
2. Add
   the remaining ingredients. Add the all-purpose flour, olive oil, and
   salt. Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment until combined,
   and then on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough is smooth
   and shiny.
3. Remove
   the dough from the mixer bowl and transfer it to a small bowl. Drizzle
   a tiny amount of olive oil over the dough and roll it around until it
   has been coated. Cover with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place
   for one hour or until doubled in bulk.
4. Preheat
   the oven and prep the baking sheets. When the dough is ready, preheat
   your oven to 425°F and line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Divide
   dough (optional). If you would like to make several different varieties
   of grissini from a single batch, punch the dough down and divide into
   portions. For this post, I made rosemary grissini.
6. For
   plain grissini, shape the dough into a rough, flat rectangle. Slice a
   finger-sized piece from the long length of the rectangle with a sharp
   knife or a bench scrapper. Roll it into a long, irregularly shaped long
   strip and place on the baking sheet. Continue with the remaining
   dough, placing the dough strips about 1/2″ apart. Note: The dough
   contains enough olive oil that you shouldn’t need flour to roll it out.
   If, for some reason, it is sticky, sprinkle a small amount of four on
   your surface before rolling.
7. For rosemary grissini, knead
   about 1 teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary into the dough and roll
   into snakes. Place the strips on the baking sheet. If you want to twist
   them, pick it up and twist into a swirl.
8. Let the grissini rest for a few minutes before baking, so they puff up a bit, about 15 minutes.
9. Place
   the baking sheets with grissini into the oven and bake for 10 to 15
   minutes. At 5 minutes, rotate the pans and check their progress. The
   grissini are quite thin, so they will burn easily! Keep an eye on them
   and take them out when they are golden brown.
10. Carefully
    move the grissini to a cooling rack to cool. Once they are cool, store
    them in an airtight container (for up to 2 to 3 days) until ready to
    serve.