At dinner, especially when you have guests, replace the usual dinner roll with breadsticks – served in a nice cylinder-shaped basket for a touch of style and, above all, flavor! In fact, it’s really hard to say no to these breadsticks. You end up eating them, one after the other. They’re just so light and crumbly.
Have you ever tried traditional rubatà? It’s a typical Piedmontese breadstick from Chieri to be precise – a small town near Turin. A baked good that’s very well known in Italy and exported all over the world, rubatà is a full-fledged product in the category of traditional Piedmontese agri-food (i.e. products "whose processing, preservation and seasoning methods are consolidated over time and are practiced in their own territory in a homogeneous way and according to traditional rules for a period of no less than twenty-five years" according to Italian law).
That means history and deliciousness – all in a single product. Want to learn how to make them at home? Find the original recipe below plus some tips and tricks for the tastiest breadsticks in our photo gallery!
How to Make Rubatà Breadsticks
Makes about 60 breadsticks
Ingredients:
1 lb flour
1 ½ cups water
2 ½ oz extra virgin olive oil
¾ oz brewer's yeast
1 tsp salt
¼ oz malt
Semolina flour to taste
Method:
Heat 3/4 of the water, without boiling it. Dissolve the yeast. Make a fountain with the flour. Add the water with the yeast and oil in the center. Knead by hand until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Add salt and the remaining water. Continue kneading. Once the dough is smooth, brush it with olive oil and place it on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, covering it with plastic wrap. Let rest for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, rework the dough with your hands and let it rise again for about an hour. Then cut the dough into strips that are 1 cm - 1 ½ cm in width and 16 cm long. Cover with semolina and starting from the center, stretch each piece by hand and roll into a spiral stretched, place them spaced out in the baking dish.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400° F. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Let the breadsticks cool and serve crispy.