Perfect as an appetizer, grissini (grissino in the singular), are crispy breadsticks originally from Turin, which can be enjoyed on their own or accompanied by various other ingredients and dips.
What are grissini?
Grissino is a staple food all over Italy today, but in Turin there is no self-respecting lunch or dinner without this delicious, crispy stick of bread on the table.
The name, grissino, derives from the Piedmontese word ghërsa, which indicates the traditional long and thin bread of the Piedmont region.
Like bread, grissini are everywhere, and play a prominent role among antipasti, or are cut into soups, or accompany sauces and dips.
How to prepare grissini
The dough of grissini, made with baker’s yeast, is almost identical to that of a classic bread, except that the long and narrow shape results in a more uniform baking and therefore, due to the fineness of the dough, the finished product is like a crispy baguette. That is, without a crumb.
The ingredients are flour, water, baker’s yeast, salt, and olive oil. And we also add a small amount of malt syrup, also called malted barley syrup, a flavor enhancer that is a popular sweetener made from sprouted barley grains. Malt syrup is frequently used in baking.
Today there are several grissini recipes across Italy which include the addition of ingredients such as spicy oil, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, olives, basil, rosemary, and oregano. However, there are only two types of original Turin grissini, grissino stirato (stretched) and grissino robatà (rolled).
The stirati and robatà breadsticks are the two well-known variations typical of Turin, worked and shaped with different techniques but their dough recipe is the same, the recipe for grissino torinese (Turin breadsticks).
Grissino robatà
In Piedmontese, robatà means rolled. Grissini robatà are presented irregularly because they are shaped by rolling the dough by hand and are 16 to 31 inches (40 to 80 cm) long.
Robatà can also mean “to bring down with a certain violence”. Its name therefore derives from the gesture made by the baker when he takes the bread sticks by the tips and rolls them by hand, turning them over, making them fly and then fall, with “gentle violence” on the worktop.
Grissino stirato
In Piedmontese, stirato means “stretched”. The only other traditional and protected form of breadsticks is the grissino stirato. It differs from grissino robatà only in the working of the dough, in that it is stretched, instead of being worked manually by rolling and lightly crushing. Being stretched gives greater friability to the final product.
What is the origin of grissini?
As with most of the great gastronomic discoveries in history, especially when they have been exported around the world, grissini are also subject to different opinions and theories as to their origin and paternity.
The first writings of the presence of grissini on tables date back to the Middle Ages, but they did not become famous until 1679.
The story goes that the court doctor, Teobaldo Pecchio, invented the recipe and had it prepared by the court baker, Antonio Brunero.
The recipe was born to cure the future king, Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco di Savoia), known as the Savoyard Fox (1666 – 1732), who was king of Sicily from 1713 to 1720, and, later king of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy, Marquis of Saluzzo and Duke of Monferrato, Prince of Piedmont and Count of Aosta, Maurienne and Nice, from 1675 to 1720.
Marie-Jeanne-Baptiste de Savoie-Nemours (1644 – 1724) known as Mademoiselle de Nemours (Maria Giovanna Battista di Nemours), who was a princess of the House of Savoy, new widow of Charles-Emmanuel II (Carlo Emanuele II 1634 – 1675), Duke of Savoy and Prince of Piedmont from 1638 to 1675, and therefore regent of the Grand Duchy of Savoy, wishing to remedy the intestinal problems of her very young son, heir to the throne, Vittorio Amedeo II, therefore instructed the doctor to the court, Teobaldo Pecchio, to find an effective remedy that would heal the precious and fragile prince.
The doctor’s diagnosis identified the origin of the disease caused by the poor quality of the bread, the ghërsa, which then fed all Piedmontese, nobles and plebeians.
After baking, these thin buns that became crisp and easy to absorb significantly improved the Duke’s health. He was crowned King of Sicily in 1713.
Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy recovered so well that he later became the first ruler of Savoy and in Venaria, city of the metropolitan city of Turin, it is said that to this day, Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy has gone from sovereign status to ghost status as he would wander the palace corridors at night, munching on his beloved grissini.
More than thirty years earlier, in 1643, the Florentine Abbot Vincenzo Rucellai, passing through Chivasso, a town in the city of Turin, during his trip to France, already wrote that he appreciated, “… a novelty, of an extravagant shape, which fits in the hand, namely a loaf as long as an arm and a half and thin resembling the bones of the dead ”.
And, in some documents from the 14th century, a certain type of bread, pane Barotellatus is mentioned, and in Piedmontese barot means “stick”.
And already, in the first half of the 17th century, grissino, in the two classical variants, stirati and robatà, was already widespread and appreciated in Turin and in neighboring countries and regions.
Piedmontese breadsticks were very successful thanks also to Napoleon Bonaparte who loved them so much that he had them imported to Paris directly from Turin, and by King Carlo Felice who even nibbled on them at the theater. The point is that they are now famous and appreciated all over Italy and the world.
Grissinifici
Grissini robatà are the result of a very old recipe. They were also the original grissini, the technique for forming the stirati being more modern. Bakeries that only make grissini are called grissinifici (grissinificio, in the singular).
Specific professional figures are born especially for the preparation of breadsticks, almost like choreography. Indeed, to make grissini, a traditional baker who prepares authentic grissini in a poplar wood oven, has at least 4 skilled workers.
These four workers are called:
- The stiror, which is the one that stretches the dough.
- The tajor, who is the one who cuts it.
- The coureur, who is the one who shapes the dough, in a long and narrow form and then puts the grissini in the oven.
- The gavor, who is the one that removes the breadsticks from the oven.
This recipe is validated by our Italian culinary expert, Benny the Chef. Chef Benny is an Italian chef, culinary teacher, awards winner, entertainer, and the author of “The Art of Cooking According to Me”.
Grissini
Ingredients
- 1 lb all-purpose flour , sifted
- 2 tablespoons durum wheat semolina , extra fine
- 1 cup water (or more), at 97 F / 36°C
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or ½ oz / 15 g fresh yeast)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
- Extra virgin olive oil , for brushing
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- Poppy seeds (optional)
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Pastry brush
Instructions
- Place the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer, and make a well in the center.
- Add the yeast and the malt syrup, and pour over half of the water.
- Let stand for 10 minutes.
- In another bowl, combine the olive oil and the rest of the water.
- Using the dough hook, start mixing at low speed while gradually adding the oil and water mixture.
- Once the liquid is incorporated, add the salt.
- Knead at medium speed until you obtain an elastic and smooth dough.
- Increase the speed, and knead for 2 minutes at high speed.
- Sprinkle the bottom of a baking sheet with durum wheat semolina and place the dough on top, giving it a rectangular shape.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the dough generously with extra virgin olive oil.
- Place in a warm, draft-free place, and let it rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F (200°C).
- Once the dough has at least doubled in size, using a knife with a very long, smooth blade, cut the dough along the short side into strips about ½ inch (1 cm) thick.
- Holding each strip at each end, stretch until they are the length of the baking sheet.
- Arrange these pieces of dough, spaced apart, on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- For sesame or poppy seed grissini, brush with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with seeds.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned.
- Place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely before storing the grissini in a paper bag to keep crisp.
Video
Sources
Wikipedia – Breadstick
Menta e Salvia
Wikipedia (IT) – Grissino
Bio Eko
Vera is the “expert” of the 196 flavors’ duo. With over 30 years of experience in the kitchen, she is now sharing her skills as a private chef and cooking instructor.
Oakley says
These crispy breadsticks are perfect for any kind of dip you love.