Recipe: Whole Wheat Breadsticks, Whole Wheat Bread Basket, and Parmesan Flat Bread

WHOLE WHEAT BREADSTICKS

1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees f)
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups unsifted bread flour, divided use
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
Egg Glaze (recipe follows)
TOPPINGS:
Coarse salt, Italian herb seasoning, poppy seeds, grated Cheddar cheese, and/or sesame seeds (optional)

1. In large bowl, preferably of heavy- duty electric mixer, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar; stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand until foamy-about 5 minutes.

2. Add 2 cups bread flour, the whole-wheat flour, oil, and salt to yeast mixture. With wooden spoon or dough book of mixer, beat 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Add the remaining bread flour, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until a soft dough forms; that pulls away from the bowl as it is beaten.

3. Grease two 15x12-inch baking sheets. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough, adding remaining bread flour as necessary to prevent stickiness, until smooth and elastic-about 5 minutes.

4. Wash, dry, and oil mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to bring oiled side up, Cover with clean cloth and let rise in warm place, away from drafts, until double in size-about 1 hour.

5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal portions; cut each portion into 5 equal pieces. With hands, roll each piece into a 14-inch-long stick; place sticks, 1/4 inch apart, on greased sheets. Cover and let rest at room temperature 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare Egg Glaze. Gently brush Egg Glaze on the surface of the breadsticks. Sprinkle with Toppings, if desired. Bake breadsticks are crisp and golden brown. in center of oven 18 to 20 minutes or until Cool breadsticks on wire rack before serving. Store in an airtight container to retain crispness.

EGG GLAZE:
In small bowl, beat together 1 small egg and 2 tablespoons milk until blended; refrigerate when not using.

Makes 20 breadsticks

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WHOLE WHEAT BREAD BASKET

Whole-Wheat Breadstick dough (above recipe)

Prepare Steps 1 through 3 of recipe for Whole-Wheat Breadsticks as directed above. Do not prepare Egg Glaze.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Invert two 8-inch metal bowls on a small baking sheet or pizza pan. Very generously grease outside of each bowl. Roll out dough to a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. With sharp knife, cut three 1/2-inch strips from 16-inch side of rectangle; braid into a 16-inch strip for handle. Center braid over one greased bowl; trim off excess. If desired, if bowl is flat rather than round on the bottom, place a greased ball of aluminum foil under braid on top of bowl to make handle rounded.

Repeat to make another 16-inch braid; set aside. Cut remainder of dough into seven 16-by 1-inch strips. Cut 4 strips in half and place the 8 half-strips, spoke-fashion, over second greased bowl, meeting loosely in top center of inverted bowl. Trim off and reserve any excess dough at bottom where bowl meets baking sheet. Stretch reserved braid around bottom of bowl, pinching together where ends meet.

Weave a strip of dough through dough "spokes," 1 inch above braid. Repeat weaving 3 more strips at 1-inch intervals pinching off excess dough and joining ends of strips. Pinch ends of "spokes" together and flatten at what will become the bottom of the basket. Shape excess dough into a roll; let rise and bake with basket. Let rise in warm place, away from drafts, until double in size-about 40 minutes.

Bake, still on inverted bowls, 30 to 35 minutes or until bread is well browned and sounds hollow when tapped on top. Cool bread on wire rack at least 20 minutes. Gently remove bread from bowls and cool completely. For serving, attach handle to basket with toothpicks, and, if desired, fill with other breads.

PARMESAN FLATBREAD
Makes 12 flatbreads

Whole-Wheat Breadsticks
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Prepare Steps 1 through 3 of recipe for Whole-Wheat Breadsticks as directed.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease baking sheets.

Prepare Egg Glaze.

Divide dough into quarters and cut each quarter into 3 equal pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll each piece out to about a 13- by 4-inch strip (it should be very thin).

Transfer 6 strips of flatbread to greased baking sheets, brush with Egg Glaze, and top each flatbread with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

In middle of oven, bake flatbreads 18 to 20 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool completely on wire rack.

Repeat with remaining 6 strips. Store in airtight container to retain crispness.

Adapted from source: Country Living magazine, January 1994