This week’s Great British Bake Off was all about bread and the themes were English muffins, bread sticks and showstopper loaves.
I was immediately excited to try the bread stick challenge because it’s something I’ve wanted to make for a while.
Like one of the contestants, Ruby, I don’t have a mixer at home and made mine by hand also (which was surprisingly enjoyable!)
I’m not sure how or why I came up with beer and black pepper, but as soon as I did, I couldn’t wait to try it.
The beer gives it a dark, bitterness whilst the black pepper injects a kick of flavour into your taste buds. I loved the combination!
At first, I was tempted to use a nice English dark ale but because this is based on an Italian recipe, I decided to go for Peroni Doppio Malta (double malt) which gives a really nice strong, dark flavour.
📖 Recipe
Beer & Black Pepper Grissini
Crispy Grissini with beer and a kick of black pepper. Made by hand (no mixer)
Ingredients
- 65g (½ cup) wholegrain flour
- 180ml (¾ cup) strong beer
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp dried active yeast
- 165g (1 + ½ cup) plain flour
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + extra for the bowl
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the wholegrain flour, yeast, beer and honey. Stir with a wooden spoon so it's well combined and leave it to sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Then stir in the plain flour, 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes or so until it becomes elastic, smooth and glossy looking.
- Now transfer the dough into a smaller bowl, coat in a tiny bit of olive oil and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for an hour. It will double in size so make sure there is enough room in the bowl!
- Once the dough has double in bulk, preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C. and line 2-3 baking trays with greaseproof paper. (I used one baking tray and cooked them in 3 batches.)
- Turn the dough out onto a board (doesn't need to be floured because of the olive oil) Add the remaining salt and the black pepper to the dough and knead in well. Then shape into a rough rectangle shape.
- Using a sharp knife, cut about ½ an inch of the dough off and roll into a very thin, long sausage shape. Bear in mind they will expand in the oven so make them a little thinner than you want them to turn out.
- Keep the sticks about ½ inch apart on the baking tray to allow them room to expand. Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning half way.
- Let cool and store in an air-tight container for a few days. Enjoy!
Katy says
These look so perfect! I just made some grissini based on that recipe and they are so wobbly and even! And a batch of mine stuck to the greaseproof paper :( Sure people won’t notice…….
Aimee says
oh no! well I’m sure they still tasted good! It did take me a few tries to get them right, I have to say
HELEN says
I loved these when I first saw them, they look perfect – great with a Peroni for sure! Love your food styling too!
Aimee says
Thanks Helen! I was enjoying the rest of the beer when I photographed them. So rock’n’roll…