Title: Oregano Breadsticks
Categories: Magazine Herb Bread
Yield: 15 Breadstick

		White dough **
1	md	Bouquet oregano; chopped
1/4	c	Parmigiano Reggiano cheese;
		. grated
		Flour; all-purpose
		. for shaping & rising
		Olive oil; for brushing
		Kosher or other coarse salt

** See other recipe "Simple, Essential Bread Starters"

Breadsticks owe their crunchy quality to the shaping of the dough, not to the ingredients. These make a great appetizer accompanied by a bowl of olives, or eat them with soup or salad.

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare the white dough, incorporating the oregano and cheese, 1 Tbsp at a time, during the final 2 minutes of kneading.

When the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape into a loose, round loaf, cover, and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using as little flour as possible, pound out the dough into a 6x15 inch rectangle. Loosely fold the dough lengthwise in three like a business letter, pinching to seal the long seam. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet or work surface near the oven. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour, or until it is puffy and bubbles are visible on the surface.

A half hour before baking, preheat the oven to 475øF with a baking stone in the lower third of the oven. Sprinkle the dough with a little kosher salt. With a large, sharp knife or a pastry scraper, cut the dough crosswise into 1/2-inch wide strips. After cutting each strip, take an end in each hand, gently pull and stretch it (carefully swinging it up and down helps). It should be about 15 inches long and 1/4-inch wide. Transfer each breadstick to the baking stone after you've stretched it. Bake for 7 minutes, or until the breadsticks are crisp and beginning to brown. You will probably need to bake two or three batches; the dough waiting to be baked will not rise too much because the breadsticks cook so quickly.

Transfer the breadsticks to baking racks and let cool. If stored in an airtight container, they will stay crisp for as long as a week. ** The Herb Companion -- Oct/Nov 96 **

Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- paul macGregor

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