Chef Graziella
Biove Piemontesi
The boat-shaped bread rolls of Piedmont, crusty and substantial, built on an overnight biga that gives them character no quick bread can match. Northern Italian baking at its most honest.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Grissini Torinesi
Created by
The hand-stretched breadsticks of Turin, pulled thin as pencils and baked until they shatter at the first bite. Once you make these, the packaged versions become unthinkable.
Breads
Italian, Piedmontese
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
45 min
Active Time
40 min cook•3 hr total
YieldAbout 40 grissini
The grissini you buy in packages are an insult to Turin. They are uniform, flavorless, and break with a limp crack that satisfies no one. True grissini torinesi are hand-stretched, irregular, thin as pencils, and when you snap one it sounds like kindling. They are addictive in a way that manufactured breadsticks can never be.
The technique is not difficult, but it requires your hands and your attention. You stretch each piece of dough between your fingers, pulling gently until it becomes a long, thin rope. Some will be thicker than others. Some will have a twist. This is correct. The irregularity proves they were made by human hands in a real kitchen.
These belong on every antipasti table in Piedmont, wrapped in prosciutto, standing in a tall glass, scattered across a board with cheese and olives. They are the bread of Turin, and Turin knows what it is doing.
Grissini were invented in 17th-century Turin by a court baker for the sickly young Duke Vittorio Amedeo II, whose physician prescribed an easily digestible bread. Napoleon became so enamored with what he called 'les petits bâtons de Turin' that he established a courier service to deliver them fresh to Paris.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bread flour
Quantity
500g
warm water
Quantity
325g
about 100°F
active dry yeast
Quantity
7g (one packet)
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
30g, plus more for brushing
malt syrup or honey
Quantity
5g
semolina flour
Quantity
for dusting
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bread flour | 500g |
| warm waterabout 100°F | 325g |
| active dry yeast | 7g (one packet) |
| fine sea salt | 10g |
| extra virgin olive oil | 30g, plus more for brushing |
| malt syrup or honey | 5g |
| semolina flour | for dusting |
Equipment Needed
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Bench scraper or sharp knife
- •Two to three rimmed baking sheets
- •Wire cooling rack
- •Parchment paper
Instructions
- 1
Activate the yeast
Pour the warm water into a large bowl. It should feel pleasantly warm against your wrist, not hot. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface and add the malt syrup. Let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast blooms and becomes foamy. If nothing happens, your yeast is dead. Start again with fresh yeast.
- 2
Make the dough
Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy mass forms. Add the olive oil and mix until incorporated. Turn the dough onto a clean work surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not sticky. It will feel alive under your hands.
If the dough sticks to your hands, resist adding flour. Wet your hands lightly instead. Too much flour makes grissini heavy and dense. - 3
First rise
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 and a half hours. The dough should spring back slowly when poked with a finger.
- 4
Divide the dough
Turn the risen dough onto a work surface dusted generously with semolina. Pat it into a rectangle about 12 inches by 8 inches, with the long side facing you. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into strips about three-quarters inch wide. You should have roughly 40 strips. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest 15 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes stretching easier.
- 5
Preheat the oven
Set your oven to 400°F. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper. You will bake in batches.
- 6
Stretch the grissini
Take one strip of dough and roll it gently between your palms to form a rope about 6 inches long. Then pick it up by both ends and stretch it, pulling gently and letting gravity help, until it reaches 10 to 12 inches. The grissino should be about the thickness of a pencil, thinner in places. Lay it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strips, spacing them about an inch apart.
The stretching is the soul of this bread. Work gently. If a piece tears, pinch it back together. Irregularity is authentic. Uniformity is industrial. - 7
Bake until crisp
Brush the grissini lightly with olive oil. This creates a beautiful golden color. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the grissini are deep golden brown and completely crisp. They should feel hard and dry when tapped. There is no underbaking grissini. They must be baked through entirely or they will become chewy as they cool.
Watch carefully in the final minutes. The difference between perfectly crisp and burnt is a matter of seconds. Remove any that darken faster than others. - 8
Cool completely
Transfer the grissini to a wire rack and cool completely before serving. They will crisp further as they cool. Repeat with remaining dough, allowing baking sheets to cool between batches. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Chef Tips
- •The dough can also be made with half olive oil and half melted lard, the traditional Piedmontese fat. The flavor is more complex, the texture more tender. Try it if you can find good lard.
- •For variation, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt, fennel seeds, or fresh rosemary needles before baking. These are not traditional but they are delicious.
- •The stretching technique improves with practice. Your first batch may be uneven. By your third, you will have the feel of it. If I can do this with one and a half arms, you should have no trouble.
- •Grissini should shatter when bitten. If they bend, they are underbaked or have absorbed humidity. Store in a completely dry container.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can be made a day ahead and refrigerated after the first rise. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before cutting and stretching.
- •Baked grissini keep for one week in an airtight container at room temperature. They do not freeze well. The texture suffers.
- •If stored grissini lose their crispness, refresh them in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Cool before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 grissini (about 15g)
Calories
55 calories
Total Fat
1 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
95 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
2 g
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