When my daughter is going through a ‘won’t eat phase’ I like to make dips for dinner. Somehow dips bypass her ideological refusal to eat anything I cook. Today I served them with healthy Italian breadsticks to much success.
We always make home made hummous and tzatziki together and add a third dip made from vegetables. This is is usually some sort of leftover cooked veg blended with a bit of garlic and olive oil. Roast butternut squash or beetroot for example, or some wilted spinach.
I usually serve these dips with veggie sticks and wholemeal pita bread or home made crackers.
I was feeling inspired by the stories about everyone making their own bread while stuck at home during COVID-19 restrictions. So I decided to make grissini.
What are grissini? Italian breadsticks – perfect for dipping. And the recipe is easy enough for small hands to help with. Especially in the rolling of the “snakes”.
To be honest I found these easier than I expected and they were such a hit, I make them regularly now. They’ve even welcome in her school lunchbox!
And how are these healthier than the ones you can buy at the shops? Wholemeal flour includes vital B vitamins, dietary fibre and has a lower GI than white flour. I’ve also made them with wholemeal spelt flour which is great for people sensitive to gluten, it’s high in protein and includes iron, copper, magnesium, vitamin B6 and folic acid.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- Optional – 3 tbsp flavour of some sort – eg finely chopped rosemary, parmesan cheese, sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
METHOD
- Add yeast to warm water (~45C) in a bowl and set aside to foam for about ten minutes.
- Combine flour, salt and your choice of flavour (if you’re using some) in a large bowl
- Mix in yeast mixture and olive oil until a soft dough forms
- Knead the dough in the bowl until smooth and elastic (this normally takes me 8-10 minutes)
- Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to rise for an hour
- Preheat oven to 175C
- Separate the dough into two halves. Roll out one half of the dough to about half a centimetre thickness. Cut into ~2cm wide strips (my daughter likes to use a pizza cutter for this).
- For each strip, fold in half vertically and then roll into long snakes. Repeat with other half of the dough.
- Place snakes on parchment lined baking tray. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake at 175C for 8-12 minutes (depending on how thin your snakes are and what type of flour you used).
- Allow to cool before serving.
