Little Breads for Company #2: Rosemary and Thyme Breadsticks

Epicurious Recipe: Rosemary and Thyme Breadsticks

• Advanced Prep: Can be made three days in advance.
• Method: Yeasted bread.

Oh god YEASTED BREADS.

(Teeth gnashing, clothes rending)

I really thought that kneading dough was going to be some kind of hardcore A.D.D. torture, like waiting in line without any reading material or getting out of a car (don't ask, it's an odd tic but I'm not the only person with A.D.D. who feels like that) or listening to someone NOT GET TO THE POINT once you've already figured out what their point it.

Everyone has felt an itchy impatience at some point, so it might be hard to really grasp what is so doggone special about the A.D.D. itchy impatience that makes it an actual thing as opposed to, you know, just poor discipline against impulse control.

I guess the best way that I can explain it is that it's that itchy impatience times one million to the point where it feels like actual physical pain and jabbing a rusty nail into your eye to distract yourself or running into traffic/murdering another soul to make it stop are actually momentarily considered as reasonable solutions.

So I have NO idea why I picked a recipe that involved kneading (SCARY MUSIC PLAYS), but I did.  And then I kneaded some dough.

And surprise surprise!

I liked it!  I liked kneading dough.  It was NOT A.D.D. torture, it was actually one of those lovely no-thought mind-clearing activities that feels like a balm or salve for the usual itch of the racing mind.

Nevertheless, I still didn't do it for long enough, nor did I let them rest for quite long enough.  So the breadsticks' texture was a little off. They were still too taut and sproingy to form nice shapes.Instead I kept feeling like I was baking the breadsticks for Naked Lunch or something. 

Or Eraserhead!  Actually, these are the breadstick version of the Eraserhead baby.

Despite the issues with texture and, um, appearance, they were still tasty enough.  I made them for dinner with the Long-Distance Gay Husband, who was in town for a bit, and he happily noshed on them dipped in a cheese dip I made based on the cheese part recipe for Gruyere Rarebit.  He ate enough of them that I knew he wasn't just being polite.

(Quick aside on the Rarebit Dip.  I stole the idea from the delicious Homemade Pretzel and Welsh Rarebit appetizer served at Quinn's.  I liked the one I made - and it was quite easy - but think I personally would prefer it made with Cheddar rather than Gruyere next time.  I also think that cheese would work better with the herb flavor.  But I might just not be enough of a Gruyere fan, so take that with a grain of salt.)

LDGH said he liked that the breadsticks were very flavorful from the herbs used.  The rosemary was definitely the more prominent note, so if you want more equal flavor from the thyme, you might want to up that herb a bit.

I did change one major thing about the recipe - I used regular all-purpose flour instead of bread flour.  The Bread Guy at the cooking school always said that though it seems counterintuitive, bread flour is just too tough to use in bread.  He always recommended using regular all-purpose flour.  So I did. 

I'm not sure how that might have impacted the structure, but I think like my first little bread effort, the main texture issue was more about my mechanical efforts, not the recipe. I will try this one again and would recommend it as a relatively easy and very tasty breadstick.

Tomorrow: Crisp Rosemary Flatbreads

Yesterday: Buttermilk Biscuits with Green Onions, Black Pepper and Sea Salt