Editing Breadstick

{{Short description|Italian bread}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[baguette]]s}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Breadstick
| image            = 2016 1129 Turin Grissini.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Grissini in a restaurant in [[Turin]], Italy
| alternate_name   = Grissini (plural), grissino (singular) 
| country          = [[Italy]]
| region           = [[Turin]], [[Piedmont]]
| creator          = Antonio Brunero (according to traditions)
| course           = 
| type             = [[Bread]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Flour]], water, [[yeast]]
| variations       = 
}}

'''Breadsticks''', also known as '''grissini''' ({{singular}}: grissino; [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]]: ''ghërsin'', {{IPA|pms|gəɾˈsiŋ|lang}}), are generally [[pencil]]-sized sticks of crisp, dry baked [[bread]] that originated in the Italian city of [[Turin]], Piedmont.

==History==
It is believed that the breadstick originated in 1643, when a [[Florence|Florentine]] abbot described a long-shaped and "bone-thin" bread being made in [[Lanzo Torinese]], a town outside of [[Turin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/breadstuffs/breadstick-history.asp|title=The Nibble: Breadstick History|website=www.thenibble.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://leitesculinaria.com/88402/recipes-italian-breadsticks.html|title=Grissini Recipe {{!}} Italian Breadsticks {{!}} Leite's Culinaria|date=11 November 2016|work=Leite's Culinaria|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Tradition states, however, that it originated in the region of [[Piedmont]] in the 17th century, invented by a baker called Antonio Brunero, from Turin. It was a food that was intended to be easier to digest for the Duke [[Victor Amadeus II|Victor Amadeus II of Savoy]], who had digestive problems in his childhood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.claudiosspecialtybreads.com/history.html|title=The History of Grissini|last=cobblestonewebdesign.com|website=www.claudiosspecialtybreads.com|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415203130/http://www.claudiosspecialtybreads.com/history.html|archive-date=15 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blog.italian-connection.com/italian-food-culture/grissini-italian-breadstick-recipe-piedmont-walking|title=Grissini - Breadsticks from Piedmont with Recipe & History|website=blog.italian-connection.com|access-date=16 April 2018|date=7 March 2013|archive-date=23 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923133700/http://blog.italian-connection.com/italian-food-culture/grissini-italian-breadstick-recipe-piedmont-walking|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dearitaly.com/piedmont/piedmontese-cuisine/grissini-turin-breadsticks/|title=The famous Grissini of Turin are traditional breadsticks - Dear Italy Piedmont|date=19 November 2014|work=Piedmont|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://meetpiemonte.com/en/blog/grissini-noble-origins|title=Grissini were invented around 1670 in Turin by a baker|date=9 September 2017|work=Meet Piemonte|access-date=16 April 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Serving==
In Italian restaurants, breadsticks are often offered as an [[Hors d'oeuvre|appetizer]] ([[antipasto]]), especially in their traditional shape, together with or replacing bread, which is commonly provided with all meals. They may also be combined with ingredients such as [[prosciutto]]. This appears to be the case with restaurants in the United States as well;<ref>{{cite web|first=Ryan|last=Joseph|title=Why Olive Garden Serves Unlimited Breadsticks|url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/olive-garden-breadsticks-history|website=Thrillist|date=9 August 2018|access-date=19 August 2018}}</ref> in some instances or regions, they may be a type that is larger than pencil-sized, as well as soft instead of hard.

In many North American restaurants, breadsticks are soft, frequently topped with butter, garlic, and cheese when served as appetizers; as a [[dessert]] item, they can be topped with cinnamon, sugar,<ref>Various references:
* {{cite web|url=http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2018/05/22/62c4e53147664979b3564dc893c5eccd/index.xml?page=1|title=Cinnamon Stix rule at Jet's Pizza in Joliet|website=theherald-news.com|access-date=29 August 2018}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.franchising.com/news/20180814_doughnate_to_help_end_childhood_hunger_at_pie_five.html|title=Dough-nate to Help End Childhood Hunger at Pie Five|website=franchising.com|access-date=29 August 2018}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/aug/18/30-years-running-pizza-pipeline-focuses-on-its-lo/|title=30 years running, Pizza Pipeline focuses on its local roots|website=spokesman.com|access-date=29 August 2018}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.brandeating.com/2015/07/cinnabon-brings-back-cinnabon-stix.html|title=Cinnabon Brings Back Cinnabon Stix|website=www.brandeating.com|access-date=29 August 2018}}</ref> and icing.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Broyles|title=Earn more dough by making some bread . . . sticks|url=http://www.pmq.com/Winter-2002/Earn-More-Dough-by-Making-Some-Bread-sticks/|website=PMQ Pizza Magazine|access-date=19 August 2018}}</ref>

Pre-made, dried breadsticks can be found being sold in markets as a quick snack or a pre-meal appetizer for home use, somewhat similar to a [[Cracker (food)|cracker]]. In Italy they are often consumed as a snack on their own, but in the United States they are usually served with a dip of some sort, such as cheese.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thelaughingcow.com/products/creamy-swiss-with-classic-breadsticks|title=Creamy Swiss with Classic Breadsticks|website=The Laughing Cow|language=en-US|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023513/https://www.thelaughingcow.com/products/creamy-swiss-with-classic-breadsticks|archive-date=17 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Another recipe for breadsticks, called ''rosquilletas'', exists in the [[Valencian Community]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aimarosquilletas.com/|title=Aima Rosquilletas Artesanas Hechas a Mano · Castellón|website=Aima Rosquilletas|language=es-ES|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

<gallery widths="220px" heights="150px">
Image:Grissini.jpg|Unbaked home-made grissini on a [[Sheet pan|baking tray]], seasoned with herbs
Image:Grissinistirati.jpg|Grissini in the proper case to be served at table
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Portal|Italy|Food}}
* [[Pretzel|Pretzel sticks]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Italian bread}}

[[Category:Italian breads]]
[[Category:Lanzo Torinese]]