| Dissolve yeast in
warm water mixed with sugar. Heat milk until very hot (scalding), then let
cool. When milk is lukewarm, add butter, salt and yeast/water mix, stirring
to blend. Pour into a large bowl. Beat egg white until fluffy, add to mix,
add ROSEMARY, BLACK PEPPER, THYME, and GARLIC, add flour in 3 parts, blending
well between additions. Stop and mix after adding 3 cups of flour, then
add more a little at a time. Sometimes you won't have to use all of the
flour, start kneading when the dough loses its stickiness. Knead 5 minutes
until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise in a greased bowl in a warm
place (an oven heated to 125° and then turned off works well) until doubled
in bulk. Punch down dough. Roll dough into thick or thin bread sticks as
desired–long artistically curved ones make great centerpieces. Anyone who
ever liked to roll playdough worms can be enlisted to help. Place sticks
on cornmeal coated pan, about two inches apart. Whisk together egg yolk
and 1 TB. water, brush on tops of bread sticks. Be careful to just brush
the breadsticks, not the pan, or the breadsticks may stick after baking.
Mix CHIPOTLE PEPPER with flake salt, sprinkle on if desired (hot pepper
can be used without the salt, it is just a bit harder to sprinkle on without
using too much). Let rest on the pan for 10 minutes before baking. For thinner,
crispy brown bread sticks, bake in a preheated 400° oven 10-12 minutes.
Thicker, chewy bread sticks should be baked in a preheated 375° oven for
12-15 minutes until golden brown. |
