Nutty Crispy Breadstick Recipe For Healthy Soups

Preparation time:     25 minutes plus time for standing
Cooking time:         36 minutes

Healthy Breadsticks Ingredients:

All purpose flour, 3&1/4 cups
Grated parmesan cheese, about 1 cup
2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper to taste
Rapid rise dry yeast – 2 teaspoons
Finely chopped fresh rosemary – 2 teaspoons or if unavailable, 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary
Water heated to 130 degree F
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/4 cups of cornmeal or semolina flour

Method:

• Take a bowl and mix together some of the all purpose flour, yeast, salt, pepper and the grated parmesan cheese. Add the rosemary and stir well. Now mix the remaining all purpose flour and knead well. Make sure you have a clean work surface and dust it lightly with flour. Put the dough onto it and knead again till it is completely smooth.
• Work consistently for about 10-15 minutes to prevent the dough from being too sticky. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into two pieces. Take a clean and thin cotton cloth and cover it up for about 10 minutes.
• Take two wax paper sheets and spread 1 tablespoon of semolina each over it and pat the pieces of dough into rectangles. Brush the tops with a little oil or butter if you wish and cover it up again with a clean cotton cloth. Keep it in a warm place, perhaps close to the stove wait till it rises almost double. After half an hour refrigerate one of the two pieces of dough.
• Take two baking sheets and line them with what is called parchment paper. Sprinkle some semolina over it such that the spread is fairly even. Preheat the oven to 400°F. The unrefrigerated dough can now be cut crosswise into equal strips numbering 20.
• Try to make sure that each strip is roughly 8 inches long. The strips of dough now need to be held at each end and can be stretched and twisted till about 12 inches long. Giving a one inch space between them, place the twists side by side on the baking sheet. Wait for ten minutes for it to rise, keeping it uncovered this time.
• The bread sticks can now be coated lightly with cooking spray, preferably the non-stick variety. Bake for roughly 8-10 minutes. Take the breadsticks out of the oven and coat again lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Now put it back into the oven and bake till it is golden brown in color.
• The same procedure can be repeated with refrigerated dough and this should make about 38-40 bread sticks.
• Each breadstick contains 55 calories, total fat amounting to 1 g, 2 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 2 mg cholesterol, and 35-40 mg of calcium.