Grissini Torinesi
Turin aristocratic breadsticks began as a medical prescription for a sickly duke and became a royal obsession. These elegant hand-stretched batons so captivated Napoleon that he commissioned regular deliveries across the Alps.
- 500gBread flour
- 7gActive dry yeast
- 300mlWarm water
- 3 tbspExtra-virgin olive oil
- 10gSalt
- 1 tspMalt syrup(optional, for color)
Store in airtight container up to 1 week. Re-crisp in 350°F oven for 5 minutes if needed.
- 1Dissolve yeast in warm water with malt syrup, let bloom 10 minutes
- 2Mix flour and salt, add yeast mixture and olive oil
- 3Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes
- 4Rest dough covered for 1 hour until doubled
- 5Divide into small pieces, roll and stretch each into thin 12-inch sticks
- 6Place on parchment-lined baking sheets
- 7Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 12-15 minutes until golden and crisp
Stretch by rolling under your palms while moving hands outward. Twist ends for traditional look.
Grissini Torinesi carry one of the most documented and colorful origin stories in Italian food history, dating specifically to Turin in 1679. According to the account repeated by food historians and documented in Piedmontese records, court baker Antonio Brunero created the thin, crisp breadstick at the request of royal physician Teobaldo Pecchio to help the young Duke Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy — who suffered from digestive ailments and could not tolerate the soft crumb of traditional Turinese ghersa bread — eat without discomfort. The solution: a long, uniformly thin stick of dough that was baked until completely dry and crisp throughout, with no soft interior. Napoleon Bonaparte, who occupied Turin and the Piedmont region during the Napoleonic period (1796–1814), became such an admirer of grissini — calling them les petits bâtons de Turin (the little sticks of Turin) — that he reportedly arranged stagecoach service between Turin and Paris to ensure a regular supply. Grissini are now recognized as a Traditional Agri-food Product (PAT) of Piedmont by the Italian government, and Turin continues to be their production center. The ideal grissino Torinese is made with only flour, water, olive oil, salt, and yeast, baked until completely dehydrated and capable of being stored without spoilage for days.