The original source for this recipe is lost to my memory. It entered my repertoire one Christmas when I needed something new to bake. They’re more or less the sweet version of grissini.
Depending on who you ask, these come from either Piedmont or Aosta. It’s much disputed.
Ingredients
- 2 g active dry yeast (4 g fresh yeast)
- 120 g water, room temperature
- 250 g “00” flour (or substitute all-purpose)
- 50 g sugar
- 5 g salt
- 120 g butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
Method
In a large bowl, combine the water and yeast, and let the yeast bloom and dissolve into the water. Then add the dry ingredients and mix the dough together until it’s homogeneous. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a tight ball. Then cover it tightly and let it rise until it’s roughly doubled in volume, about an hour.
Then knead the butter into the dough, place it in a bowl and tightly cover, and let the dough prove another hour at room temperature. Transfer the dough to the refrigerator for two hours to firm it up.
Preheat an oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
Now, form the biscuits. Roll portions of the dough into a roughly 1 cm snake. Then divide that into roughly 6 cm sections. Fold those into a roughly U-shape, and then gently join the two ends. Place the formed biscuits onto a lined baking tray.
Bake the biscuits until they’re lightly golden, about 20-30 minutes. Transfer the finished torcetti to a cooling rack, and let them cool to room temperature. Store them in an airtight container.