Italian Bread Sticks

1 pkg dry yeast (2¼ tsp)

2/3 cup warm water (105˚- 115˚F)

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup cooking oil

2 – 2¼ cups flour

Cooking Oil

1 egg white

1 Tbsp water

Sesame seeds or coarse salt

Grated Parmesan cheese

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ cup oil, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn the dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Shape dough into 14-16 equal parts. Roll each part into pencil-like rope, 8 inches long (for thicker bread sticks) or 10 inches long (for thinner bread sticks). Place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet. Brush lightly with oil. Cover; let rise in warm place for 20 minutes. Heat oven to 350˚F. Beat egg white and 1 tablespoon of water slightly; brush over sticks and sprinkle with seeds or salt. Bake until bread sticks are golden brown—about 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Great with spaghetti or chicken fettuccine!

Science: Louis Pasteur discovered how yeast works in 1859. Yeast is a leavener. It produces carbon dioxide gas by feeding on sugar and on the starches in flour. This gas makes the bread rise by creating hundreds to thousands of balloon-like bubbles in the dough. It gives the bread sticks their fluffiness.

Cooking oil, like Crisco, is a lipid material derived from plants. Avoid using cooking oil whose label says “partially hydrogenated”. These have unsaturated fats which can be damaged at high temperature and converted to a trans fat. It is better to look for fats labeled super-unsaturated (like flax seed) or monounsaturated (like olive and canola oil). Polyunsaturated oils are also healthy choices. The healthiest cooking oils to use for people with diabetes are walnut oil and canola oil, which are both good for baking, sautéing at low to medium-high heat, and in dressings.