Long, low baking makes these bread sticks super crunchy. The delicious tang of the sourdough and sharpness of the parmesan mean they pair perfectly with a cold beer!

Makes 24 thicker or 32 thinner sticks

Ingredients

200g warm water
440g all-purpose (plain) flour
30g extra virgin olive oil
230g 100% hydration starter
7g salt
60g freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Note: I started with 150g mature starter and fed it with 40g flour and 40g water about 2 hours before I started the dough.

Directions

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water and flour to form a shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Add the olive oil and starter to the dough and mix in well, add the salt and knead until smooth and elastic.

Knead in the parmesan.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 175°C. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets.

Turn dough out and knead it lightly then gently stretch and pat out to a rectangle of about 30 x 20cm.

Using a dough cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough in half lengthwise and across, then cut each quarter lengthwise into 6 to 8 strips.

Take a strip by the ends, pick it up and twirl it like a skipping rope while gently pulling, until it’s about 40cm long. Place it on the baking sheet – it will shrink back a bit in length. Repeat with remaining strips of dough. Space them about 1cm apart – the shouldn’t puff too much but if they stick to each other at all while baking, they can be snapped apart quite easily.

Bake for about 60 – 75 minutes, depending on the thickness of the sticks, swapping and turning the baking sheets every 15 minutes for even baking and removing any that are done. They should be deep golden.

Transfer sticks to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.