This bread recipe was a little on the long side when it comes to time, but easy to make. I decided when I was making it that bread sticks might be a good way to enjoy the bread.
Rustic Bread Sticks
(adapted from Perfect Party Food)
1 package Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 teaspoon Vegetable Shortening
1 1/4 cup warm Water (105 degrees)
3 cups all purpose Flour
Put the flour in a large bowl.
In a 2 cup measuring cup stir the yeast, sugar,
salt, shortening, and water together.
Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
It should bubble up by this time.
Add the yeast to the bowl of flour.
Mix until well combined.
Start kneading the bread on a lightly floured surface.
Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
This should take about 10 minutes. Add enough flour
to keep the dough from being sticky.
Place the dough in a bowl sprayed with pan spray.
Cover the bowl with plastic that is sprayed with
pan spray. Let it rise in a warm, dry place. If you
don’t have such a place, use your oven to create
a warm box. Heat the oven to 200 degrees for 10 minutes.
Then turn the oven off, and put the bread in for about
45 minutes to double in size.
Take the bread out. To test to see if it doubled in size,
stick 2 fingers in the dough. Pull them out and if the holes
from your fingers don’t close up, it has doubled!
Punch the dough down.
This means to put your fist in the middle,
and then pull the sides in. Cut the dough in half.
Weigh the dough to make sure.
Place each dough ball into a sprayed pan.
Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with pan spray,
and let it rise to double the size again.
Use the oven like above. It should take about 1 1/2 hours.
Set your oven at 400 degrees.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to
375 degrees, and bake until bread is golden brown.
It should take about 40 minutes. Let the bread cool, and then
cut the pan into strips.
Let the bread cool on a rack.
Cut the bread in to strips and serve with marinara.
Enjoy!
