Italian Bread Sticks (Grissini)

I'm very sad to say this is the first recipe I've made from this book that we didn't like. I liked the taste, but the texture wasn't very good. I will probably try them again with a different type of flour... BUT if you are looking for some awesome breadsticks, we made some out of the White Mountain Bread recipe, SO good!

Feel free to try these yourself, maybe mess around with some of the ingredients if you have made grissini before. It may very well be that I didn't follow the directions well...

In a large bowl: 2 tablespoons active dry yeast,  1 1/2 cups warm water,  1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup semolina flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour.

Beat hard until creamy, about a minute. Then add 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, half a cup at a time until you have a soft shaggy ball that clears the side of the bowl. If making by hand switch to a wooden spoon when necessary.

Knead until soft and springy, about 3 minutes. Dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed to prevent sticking.

Dust the work surface with semolina flour and pat the dough into a thick 12x6 inch rectangle. OR you can grease a large cookie sheet (I use airbake) and roll out dough right on the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise about an hour (or until doubled)

Preheat the oven to 425 F and place a baking stone on the center rack. (If you don't have a pizza stone unglazed terracotta tiles are a nice inexpensive substitute!) Gently deflate dough, then cut the dough into  four equal sections lengthwise (the dough will deflate a little more) Then cut into 6 strips lengthwise.

Pick up each piece and stretch or roll to desired shape. Dip each piece into olive oil, then semolina flour. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

I really like the idea of these, and I'm determined to figure out a way to make them to our family's liking! Will update when I figure that out!