Grissini

In a bowl, mix 300 g white bread flour with the instant yeast, sugar and salt. Add 180 ml lukewarm water and 30 ml olive oil; the water should be slightly warm, not hot. Mix to form a dough, then knead on a clean work surface for about 10–15 minutes by hand or about 8–10 minutes in a mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed. The dough should be smooth, soft and elastic; do not add flour while kneading.

Return the dough to the bowl and spread the remaining 5 ml olive oil over its surface. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm, draft-free place for about 45–60 minutes, until the dough is visibly puffy and nearly doubled in volume. In a cool kitchen, wait until it looks this way, even if it takes longer.

Line two large baking sheets, about 30 × 40 cm, with parchment paper. Dust the work surface and your hands with the reserved 10 g flour, transfer the dough to the surface and gently flatten it into a rectangle about 30 × 12 cm and about 1–1.5 cm thick. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it stretches more easily. Meanwhile, start preheating the oven to 180°C on the convection (fan) setting, leaving room for the sheets in the upper and lower parts of the oven.

Position the rectangle with a long edge facing you. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut across the long edge to make 30 strips, each about 1 cm wide and about 12 cm long. Cut firmly without crushing the strips; keeping them similar in size helps them bake evenly.

Hold each strip by the ends and gently stretch it to about 25 cm long and 8–10 mm thick. Lightly roll any thicker sections on the work surface with your fingers so each stick is an even thickness along its length, without very thin ends. If a strip springs back strongly, cover it and let it rest for an extra 5 minutes instead of forcing it to stretch. Arrange 15 breadsticks on each sheet, parallel to the shorter side, with gaps of about 1–1.5 cm; once the whole batch is shaped, bake it straight away.

Put both sheets in the preheated oven and bake at 180°C on the convection (fan) setting for about 25–30 minutes. Halfway through baking, switch the sheets' positions and rotate them from front to back. The grissini should be light golden, including underneath, with dry, firm surfaces. If any thinner sticks brown sooner, move them to a wire rack, leaving the thicker ones in the oven to finish baking.

Transfer the grissini to a wire rack in a single layer and let cool for about 30 minutes, until completely cool. Only then break one of the thicker breadsticks: it should snap with a crunch and have a dry center, without a soft, damp core. If the thicker sticks still bend or have soft centers, put them back on a baking sheet and dry them out at 150°C on the convection (fan) setting for 5–10 minutes, then let them cool completely again on the rack for about 20–30 minutes.

The full batch of dough makes 30 breadsticks. Serve them completely cooled, with 3 per serving. A longer rise, extra resting time for the strips or additional drying followed by cooling will extend the preparation time accordingly.