Grissini (Italian Breadsticks)
Everything I know about making grissini. These beloved, pencil-thin Italian breadsticks are made with just five ingredients. No mixer is needed and you don’t need to proof your yeast.
Grissini bring charm and drama wherever they appear. The beloved thin and crispy Italian breadsticks are great alongside a cheese board, welcome crumbled over soup, and are forever kid-friendly. At their best, they maintain snap and crunch, radiate imperfect handmade charm, and can (arguably) rival flowers when arranged in "bouquets" running the length of a table. They're simple to make, and turning the task into an all-hands group activity makes quick work of the shaping.
Grissini: The Inspiration
I started baking grissini at home many years ago inspired by a nearby restaurant. We would regularly walk from our house to Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco’s Mission District. The first thing that would be placed on your table, after being seated, was a tall glass filled with pencil-thin grissini (breadsticks). Next would come a tiny plate with a trio of chile flakes, Parmesan, and dried oregano for topping your pizza. We’d snack on grissini, sip on good wine, and chat while waiting on the main event. I loved having them at the start of a meal. They’re a labor of love to make, and I delight in the way each one is slightly different and reflects the hands (and whims!) of the baker.
How To Make Grissini
If you can make pizza dough, you can make grissini. I use much of the same technique to make the dough here as I do with my go-to pizza dough recipe. You'll mix the dough by hand, use instant yeast (so there's no need to worry about proofing). After mixing, wait for a bit of a rise, chill, shape and then bake. I’m willing to bet you have most of the ingredients on hand.
Above you see the butter melting in warm milk. And below, the dough ready to be refrigerated for a bit.
A Few Tips
I mention this below, but these are the keys to great grissini.
- Thin not thick: Roll your dough pencil thin. I include specifics below, but aiming for the thickness of a pencil is the goal for snappy sticks. These are 12 inches long, shaped from a 7 gram piece of dough. Mark out your ideal length with tape (see below) for easy uniformity.
- No blond breadsticks: Bake the breadsticks until golden all over. This is important for snap and crunch.
- When shaping, you're the boss: You will likely need to be a bit assertive when rolling out the dough. Use your hands and have fun. If the dough is resistant, springing back, just set that piece aside while you roll others and come back to it after a few minutes. It will relax.
Grissini Variations
The recipe below is what I consider a base recipe. You can add any number of herbs, spices, or creative ingredients to it if you like.
- Vegan Grissini: Follow the recipe as written, opting for water as the liquid and olive oil as the fat.
- Spicy Mustard Grissini: Katy, owner of Monsieur Marcel in Los Angeles recently turned me on to a beautiful spicy mustard seed oil. I swapped out some of the olive oil in the recipe below and replaced it with this (about half) for a mustard-kissed version.
- Herbed Grissini: For herbed grissini, use dried herbs. Start with a tablespoon or two of chopped rosemary. You can also use blends like “Italian seasoning” or Herbes de Provence.
- Sesame Grissini: After arranging breadsticks on the baking sheet, spray with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. You can leave them as is, or give a bit of a twist.
- Everything Bagel Grissini: Similar to the sesame version above, but use everything bagel seasoning.
- Parmesan Grissini: Add 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan to your dry ingredients before mixing. Experiment with other dried cheeses.
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Grissini (Italian Breadsticks)
The key to success here is making thin grissini. If your breadsticks are too thick they won’t crisp up. Also, be sure you don’t under bake. You’re looking for golden toasted tones across each breadstick. Dough pieces that weigh 7 grams (about 3/4-inch square of dough) roll out nicely to foot-long grissini, and this recipe will yield you about 7 dozen breadsticks. You can make them long and more dramatic if you have longer baking sheets.
- 2 1/2 cups / 310 g bread flour
- 1/2 cup / 65 g whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons / 10 g fine grain salt
- one packet / 7g instant yeast
- 1/3 cup / 60g extra-virgin olive oil OR 1/4 cup / 60g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 3/4 cup / 180 ml / 180g milk OR water
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In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, salt, and instant yeast.
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Combine the olive oil and water In a small saucepan and heat to lukewarm or 115°F. Stir into the flour mixture and when it comes together, turn out onto a counter and knead for three minutes. Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
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Knead for another 3 minutes, shape into a ball, rub with a bit of olive oil and return to a bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. Move to refrigerator for an hour or until cold.
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Preheat oven to 350°F and place racks in top and bottom third.
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Start by cutting a few small pieces of dough - 7g each, about 3/4-inch. Cover remaining dough while you’re working so it doesn’t dry out. Roll the small pieces of dough into pencil-thin strips, 1/8-inch thick. If the dough is being stubborn, set that piece of dough aside while you work on others. It will relax after a few minutes. Arrange directly on baking sheets. You don’t ned much space between each piece of dough.
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Bake, rotating once, for 13-15 minutes, or until golden and crispy. I like to gently shake the pan a bit when rotating the pans, to get color on tops and bottoms of the grissini. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
Makes 7 dozen.
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