Turin Breadsticks with Lard

La storia di questo piatto

Torino respira nella crosta di ogni grissino, nell'eleganza sabauda che non si concede al superfluo. Nato tra le nebbie regali del Piemonte, è aristocrazia in forma di filo, un gesto di corte diventato pane del popolo.

Ingredienti

• 500 g Strong bread flour (W280 approximately)
• 60 g Softened lard at room temperature
• 10 g Fresh baker's yeast
• 280 ml Warm water
• 1 teaspoon Barley malt or sugar
• 10 g Fine sea salt
• q.b. Flour for dusting the work surface

Preparazione

1. Dissolve the yeast and malt in the warm water — warm as an embrace, not hot, otherwise the yeast gets frightened and dies. Let rest for five minutes: when you see a light foam on the surface, you know the yeast is alive and ready to work for you.
2. In a bowl, put the flour, make a well in the center and pour in the water with yeast. Mix with your hands, incorporate the softened lard in small pieces and add the salt last, since direct contact with yeast weakens it. Work with energy for ten minutes until the dough becomes smooth, elastic, no longer sticks to your fingers, and when you gently stretch it, it elongates like a veil without tearing.
3. Form a ball, place it in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm spot, away from drafts, until doubled: you'll know it's ready because the dough is puffy and soft, and when you poke it with a finger, the indentation stays there lazily, without snapping back.
4. Gently deflate the dough on a floured work surface and divide it into pieces of about 15 grams each. With your hands, without a rolling pin, roll each piece by stretching it outward until it becomes a thin strand as long as your baking sheet: the secret of the Turin breadstick is in the hand that stretches and doesn't press, so it stays airy inside.
5. Arrange the breadsticks on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, well spaced apart because they dry out and expand slightly during baking. Let them rest uncovered at room temperature: the surface dries slightly and this helps achieve the final crispness.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°C in static mode and bake the breadsticks. They're ready when they're evenly golden, straight and rigid to the touch when you brush them — if you bend one and it snaps with a sharp, dry crack, you've won the crispness challenge.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, never piled up while hot otherwise residual moisture softens them and you lose all your work. When they're cold, taste one: it should snap cleanly between your teeth and taste of butter and toasted grain — if it feels slightly soft, return them to the oven at 150°C to dry further, without rushing.