Wild Yeast

I have sung the praises of grissini (thin crisp bread sticks; literally “little snakes”) many times before, but let’s review:

• simple to make
• easy to vary with different flours, toppings, etc.
• look striking in a bouquet or bundle
• great party food; no slicing!
• lots of dough hands-on time, and much more satisfying than Play-Doh
• disappear quickly
• satisfy the “crunchy” food group daily requirement

Sesame and fennel seeds are classic for grissini, but I find I have trouble making mine stay on. I solved that problem here by putting the seeds into the dough rather than on top. (Coarse salt, however, always belongs on top!) Mixing the dough in the food processor, as I’ve done here, chops the seeds, so if you prefer them whole, mix by hand or in a stand mixer.

Buon appetito!

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It seems we Bread Baking Babes were a busy bunch this month, so Ilva kindly provided us with a bread that is ever-so-quick but oh-so-delicious.

I love yeast, but it’s a slowpoke, so soda bread (leavened by baking soda, imagine that!) can save the day if you need a bread fix fast. I got home from a busy work day at 5:30, and by 6:30 this fragrantly herby loaf was out of the oven, even though I had to take time to figure out the volume of a dessert spoon. (It’s 2.4 teaspoons, but I used a tablespoon of each herb; other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.) The bright combination of sage, rosemary, and chives is perfect, but other herbs could work just as nicely.

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Before shaping a boule or batard loaf, dough is often preshaped into a boule (ball). This preshaping allows the final shape to achieve a tighter surface tension, which helps the loaf maintain its shape through proofing and baking, and helps cuts to open nicely during baking.

This video demonstrates my method for preshaping a boule.

(If you can’t see the video here, view it on YouTube.)

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