Spinach Bread Sticks

After the success of the Pink Pizza, I really wanted to experiment further with adding vegetables to pizza or bread dough. And with Easter just a few weeks away, I figured I could make something that’s green. Spinach is a perfect colouring agent and adds a subtle taste. So, I came up with these Spinach Bread Sticks. Green and delicious. Speaking about green, this recipe would also be very fitting for St. Patrick’s Day, don’t you think?

Perfect addition

These Spinach Bread Sticks are perfect for Easter Brunch, but will be just as good for breakfast or as a side for dinner or a soup. I personally think these can be eaten all year round, but the bright green colour makes them perfect for Easter or St. Patrick’s Day.

Cheesy

For this first try, I added a mild cheese (grated Emmenthal), mainly due to the fact that our oldest son doesn’t like a strong cheese taste. Though I think that the spinach can perfectly be accompanied by a somewhat stronger cheese, like mature cheddar of goat’s cheese. Thinking of that, I think adding Feta cheese will be a great variation as well. What I’m trying to day: choose whatever you like, experiment the hell out of it. Not a cheese lover at all? These Spinach Bread Sticks taste great even without the cheese.

Ingredients

200 g fresh spinach

1 tbsp olive oil

Pinch of sea salt

50 ml water

7 g dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

350 ml warm water

700 g flour + extra flour for dusting

1 tsp salt

200 g + 150 g grated Emmenthal

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 egg

Instructions

Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan or wok and stir fry the spinach with a pinch of sea salt until the spinach has wilted down.

Let the spinach cool completely.

Puree the spinach with 50 ml water in a blender or food processor.

Mix 350 ml warm water (think of the temperature of bath water) with the yeast and the sugar.

Let sit for ca. 10 minutes until the mixture is all bubbly.

Put the yeast mixture, spinach, salt, flour and 200 g cheese in a large mixing bowl and knead until a dough has formed. If the dough is too sticky/too wet, slowly add more flour.

Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it a couple of times on a lightly floured surface.

Grease a bowl with a tablespoon of vegetable oil, put the dough in the bowl and turn the dough so it gets covered in oil as well.

Put in a warm place for at least 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 equally sized pieces.

Shape each piece into a log and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for another 15 minutes.

Lightly beat the egg and coat the bread sticks with the egg wash.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake ca. 20 minutes in the middle of the oven.

The bread sticks taste great just as they are, for example with a soup. But with some butter and a slice of cheese, oh my…

Enjoy!