Pick-up Sticks: Sourdough Breadsticks

This year, I avoided my annual crying jag while driving down I-95 for one reason this T-gives & X-mas of 2013: I didn't go home. Why?

Sugar. It's usually the story of my holidays, eating too much cookies, bread, sweet drinks.
Vegan eggnog is just soy, almond, or coconut milk and extra sugar, oftentimes. My cashew nog was mercifully date-sweetened (and rum-spiked).

I've become so sensitive that the slightest bit of processed sugar I eat is like giving a drink to an alcoholic. I'll predictably binge eat after having something very sugary because of how it makes me want more to get the brief high sugar affords.

This video is a cute but accurate depiction of how excess sugar can negatively affect consumers.

Q is starting the sugar-free now & continuing until sufficiently detoxed. I'm doing 30 days to start then just keep going. Slough off all the crap, like Pink in The Wall scene for "Comfotably Numb." I've had it with the mood swings and the joint aches.

Yes, there's sugar in these breadsticks to make 'em rise--you can use agave, maple, coconut sugar, et cetera--for the yeast to eat.

The sickness of sweets and the sourness of sourdough. "Of [noun]" constructions sound so academic, don't they?

Sourdough Breadsticks (from Classic Sourdoughs )

Modified from Yemoos

1 cup fed teff starter

1 cup teff flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour, plus more for rolling

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

2/3 cup lukewarm water

2 teaspoons yeast

1 tablespoon organic sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Oil for pan

Oil for brushing

3 tablespoons Italian seasoning 

1 teaspoon sea salt

In a large bowl, stir together all the dough ingredients until well-combined. Place in a warm, draft-free place and let rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil and oil the pans.

After dough has risen, roll it out on a well-floured surface to a 13"*24"*1/3" rectangle. With a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut the bread into 1-inch sticks. Twist the breadsticks as you transfer them to the pans. Brush sticks with oil and sprinkle with seasoning and salt. Let rise for another 45 minutes.

In the last 15 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the sticks for 25 minutes or until desired crispness is achieved.

No pictures because it was a busy night. Serve with soup to complement the crunch. As Gentile said, "You can do crust now."

Parting shots:

Beer & bread yeast as a GIANTmicrobe!