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I often say that I’m not much of a baker, mainly because I bake when I get an idea for the blog, but in my normal life, I rarely bake desserts. I don’t eat them usually so it’s not something I want to spend my time preparing. That being said though…I LOVE baking bread! There is something so comforting about making homemade bread, and after having surgery last week, I was in need of comfort in the form of bread bowls and breadsticks. I made these Italian grissini breadsticks with my pizza dough recipe which bakes up nice and crispy with additional olive oil added and the Skull bread is made with an easy no knead recipe that bakes up into a crusty hearty bread bowl that I filled with my favorite jarred marinara sauce, but feel free to serve them with your favorite dip. Enjoy!
Crown of Bones
Equipment
Ingredients
Grissini Bonesticks
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1½ tsp. salt
- 1½ cup warm water (110 degrees)
- 2 tsp. active dry yeast
- ½ tsp. squid ink (optional- for color)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- coarse kosher salt
Skull Bread Bowl (Makes 1 large skull bowl)
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¾ cup warm water (110 degrees)
- 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
- ¼ tsp. squid ink (optional-for color)
- ½ tbsp. sugar
Instructions
Grissini Bonesticks
- Measure out flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. Add yeast, squid ink, and warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes. Add flour mixture and olive oil to the yeast mixture and mix on low until the dough is smooth and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Turn out on a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball, add a little flour if the dough is too sticky, or add water if too dry. Add dough to a large oiled bowl, cover and set it in a warm place until doubled.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Work in batches, roll out ⅓ of the dough into a rectangle approximately ⅛-inch in thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut rectangle into half inch strips. Roll each strip into a rope the thickness of a pencil, pressing down and pinching each end to create nubs of the bones.
- Place bones on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spray with a little water and sprinkle kosher salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350° until dry and crisp. Note: These can be made 1-3 days ahead of time, stored in a plastic bag and crisped up in a 350℉ oven for ~10 minutes or until crispy, the day of your party.
Skull Bread Bowl
- Measure out flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. Add yeast, sugar, squid ink, and warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until frothy. Add flour mixture and mix on low until the dough is smooth and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Turn out on a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Add dough to a large oiled bowl, cover and set it in a warm place until doubled.
- Punch down dough and transfer to a Large 3D silicone skull mold and allow to proof for another 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Do not remove the dough from the skull mold, it will be baked in the mold. Place the mold on a cookie sheet and bake the dough in the mold for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes and then turn out skull bread from the mold and allow to cool completely. To serve, cut the skull face off the top of the bread bowl and hollow out the center. Fill with your favorite marinara or dip.
