Italian Rubatà Breadsticks | Grissini Rubatà di Chieri

Sep 30

11 min read

Grissini Rubatà di Chieri (Italian Rubatà Breadsticks)

Rubatà means rolled, and in Chieri the whole bread lives in that one word. A strip of firm, lean dough goes under two open palms on a bare wooden bench and comes out as a knotted, uneven stick, crisp to the core and full of toasted wheat flavor. Four ingredients, one gesture, and no two sticks alike.

Yield: about 40 breadsticks, 10 servings of 4. Prep: 30 minutes. Rise: 60 to 90 minutes. Rolling: 40 minutes. Bake: 26 to 32 minutes. Total: about 3 hours.

The Story

Piedmont credits the grissino to 1679, when a baker named Antonio Brunero, working near Turin, is said to have shaped the first thin sticks of bread on the advice of the court physician Teobaldo Pecchio. His patient was the young Duke Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, a fragile boy whose stomach could not manage the damp, doughy crumb of the loaves of the time. The remedy was to take the crumb away almost entirely: stretch the dough thin, bake it dry through, and leave something digestible, durable and easy to carry. The court adopted it, and the tale adds that Napoleon later liked the little sticks of Turin so much that he had them sent to Paris.

Chieri, a textile town on the hills east of Turin, kept the older hand method. Where many Turin bakeries moved to the stirato, a stick pulled and stretched into a long smooth length, the bakers of Chieri went on rolling the dough under their palms, and the bread took its name from the Piedmontese word for rolled. The knobby result is now listed among the traditional food products of Piedmont. Bakers in town still describe the gesture instead of the recipe when asked how it is made, because the recipe is four ingredients and the gesture is everything.

The stick belongs to the table more than to the shop. In the trattorie of the region it arrives before anything else, wrapped in prosciutto crudo, dipped into bagna cauda, or snapped beside a plate of vitello tonnato or a board of local salumi. Families kept a paper sack of them on the sideboard for the week, since a properly dried rubatà stays crisp for days. That lasting dryness is the reason the bread was invented in the first place, and everything in the recipe below serves it.

The fame of the grissino outlived the Savoy court. Through the nineteenth century the bakeries of Turin turned out the sticks in great numbers and sent them well beyond Piedmont, and in time the machine and the stretching board took over much of the trade. That is what makes the rolled stick of Chieri worth making at home today. It is the slow, tactile answer to a bread that was easy to standardize, and each stick still carries the trace of a pair of hands. Bite one and you hear it before you taste it: a short, dry snap, then wheat, salt and a little olive oil.

Ingredients

For the dough

Bread flour, 4 cups (500 g)
Lukewarm water at 95°F (35°C), 1 1/4 cups (300 ml)
Active dry yeast, 2 tsp (7 g)
Fine sea salt, 2 tsp (12 g)
Sugar, 1 tsp (4 g)
Extra virgin olive oil, 3 tbsp (45 ml)

For the bowl and trays

Extra virgin olive oil, for the bowl, 1 tsp (5 ml)
Fine semolina, for the baking trays only, 2 tbsp (20 g)
Parchment paper, 3 sheets

For finishing, optional

Coarse sea salt, 1 tsp (5 g)
Sesame seeds, 2 tbsp (18 g)

Choose a bread flour with 12 to 13 percent protein. The dough is stiff and lean, so it needs real gluten strength to stay elastic while it is rolled and shattering after it is dried. All purpose flour works but gives a slightly softer bite. Set the oven to 400°F (200°C) for the first bake and 325°F (160°C) for the drying phase.

Use water that feels just warm on the wrist, not hot, since heat above 110°F (43°C) weakens the yeast. Salt goes in after the first rest so it does not slow hydration. Choose a fruity extra virgin olive oil from Liguria or Piedmont if you can, because in a dough this plain its flavor is clearly heard. The semolina is for the trays only. The bench stays bare.

Preparation

Wake the yeast and mix the dough

Stir the yeast and sugar into about a third of the warm water and leave it for 10 minutes, until cloudy and lifting. Put the flour in a wide bowl, pour in the yeast and the remaining water, and mix with a wooden spoon until no dry flour shows. Rest the shaggy mass for 15 minutes. This gives the flour time to hydrate fully, so the gluten starts organizing itself without any work from you and the kneading that follows is shorter.

Knead until firm and smooth

Add the salt and olive oil and knead for 10 to 12 minutes by hand, or 6 to 8 minutes in a stand mixer on low speed. The dough should feel stiff and slightly tight, never sticky, and it should clear the bowl completely. A piece stretched between your fingers should hold a thin translucent window. Aim for a dough temperature near 75°F (24°C), because a warm dough ferments unevenly and a cold one fights the palms later. Oil goes in late because it coats the gluten strands and would slow their development if it were there from the start.

Ferment gently

Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave it at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until it has grown by about half. Do not chase a full doubling. Overfermented dough turns slack and tears under the palms, and it loses the resistance that makes the knots. It should feel puffed but still springy when pressed.

Press out the slab and rest

Line a tray with parchment, without any flour. Turn the dough onto it and press it with your fingertips into a rectangle of about 8 by 10 inches (20 by 25 cm) and 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Cover with a damp towel and rest for 20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes the strips easy to cut cleanly. The slab must not dry out, so keep the towel damp and the tray away from drafts.

Cut and roll each stick on the bare bench

Wipe a wooden bench or countertop clean and dry, with no flour and no oil. Cut the slab into strips about 1/4 inch (6 mm) wide with a bench scraper, one straight downward cut each. Lay a strip across the bench, set both palms flat on its center and roll outward, lifting and returning for three or four passes, until it reaches 12 to 14 inches (30 to 35 cm) and about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Work briskly and lightly, and leave the irregular knots exactly as they form.

Lay out the trays

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Dust two or three parchment lined trays very lightly with semolina and lay each stick down as it is rolled, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Scatter coarse salt or sesame seeds if you like, and rest the trays for 10 minutes while the compressed gluten settles.

Bake, then dry

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, swapping and rotating the trays halfway, until evenly golden and rigid when lifted by one end. Lower the oven to 325°F (160°C) and dry them for 8 to 10 more minutes. Break one open: the center must be matte and dry with no sheen. Cool the sticks in a single layer on racks before touching them.

Plating

Stand the sticks upright in a tall glass, a terracotta cup or a paper lined basket in the middle of the table, at different heights so the irregular lengths become part of the look. Serve them at room temperature, never warm, because warmth softens the crust. Sticks of the same length look neat, but here the differences are the charm and should be left alone.

Keep the basket within reach of every guest and refill it often, because these vanish fast.

For a more composed start, wrap a slice of prosciutto crudo around the upper half of each stick and fan six of them on a slate board beside a small bowl of bagna cauda or good olive oil with black pepper. Add a few cubes of Toma or Castelmagno, and let guests break the sticks by hand.

Professional Technique

Rubatà means rolled, and the gesture is the recipe. The stick is made by rolling a piece of dough under open palms on a bare bench. Rolling compresses and lengthens the dough at the same moment: the surface is dragged forward by the hands while the core is squeezed, so the dough twists slightly on itself and the surface stays irregular and knotty. Those facets and knots give the crust its bite. If the strip is instead pulled from its ends, it lengthens smoothly and evenly, the surface stays glossy and uniform, and you have made a stirato, a different bread.

The bench is never floured because flour is a lubricant. A dusted surface lets the strip slide under the palms instead of turning, and the twist is lost. A bare bench grips the dough gently and forces it to rotate. Flour would also bake onto the thin stick as a dusty, bitter coating. This is why the dough is stiff, at about 60 percent hydration: it is firm enough to hold its knots and to grip the wood without smearing, where a wetter dough would stick and slump.

Even thickness comes from even starting material and even hands. Cut every strip the same width, or weigh them at about 0.6 oz (17 g). Roll with both palms moving outward from the center at the same speed, pressing lightly with the whole flat of the hand rather than the fingertips. When a stretch of stick is thicker, lay the pressure there for the next pass. Check the result against the tray edge, not against memory.

Texture and Moisture Control

A rubatà is judged by what it no longer contains. At 60 percent hydration the dough starts with little water, and the bake removes nearly all of the rest. The first stage at 400°F (200°C) sets the shape and builds color. The second stage at 325°F (160°C) is pure drying: it drives out interior moisture without pushing the crust into bitterness. A stick that is golden outside but still moist inside will soften within a day.

Thickness controls the balance. A stick under 3/16 inch (5 mm) dries before it colors and tastes pale, while one over 5/16 inch (8 mm) keeps a chewy center. Because they are rolled, the sticks also have a compact crumb, short and slightly crumbly, so they snap rather than bend. Overworking the dough in the shaping stage squeezes out the fermentation gas and makes them hard instead of crisp.

After baking, moisture must escape freely, so cool the sticks in a single layer on racks. Stacked warm sticks trap steam and soften each other. Store them only when they are fully cold, and in a dry container, because bread this dry pulls water back from humid air within hours.

Professional Mise en Place

This is a bread of rhythm: the dough is prepared in one block and then rolled in a steady sequence. Organize the bench so the hands never stop, with the dough covered at one side, the trays at the other and the palms free in the middle.

Equipment and tools

Wooden bench or clean dry countertop, never floured
Bench scraper, kitchen scale and a ruler for checking length
Three parchment lined baking trays, semolina in a small sieve
Probe thermometer and oven thermometer
Damp kitchen towel for the strips waiting to be rolled

Prepared ahead

Dough kneaded and fermented up to 3 hours ahead
Slab pressed out and rested under a damp towel
Trays lined, oven at 400°F (200°C) before rolling begins
Sesame seeds and coarse salt measured into small bowls

Service setup

Sticks cooled fully and stood in glasses just before guests sit
Prosciutto, cheese and bagna cauda prepared à la minute
Serve at room temperature on a dry surface
A spare tin ready for any sticks that will not be eaten the same day

Chef Tips

Weigh the strips for the first tray. The eye learns quickly, and after ten sticks your hands will match the weight without the scale. Keep the unrolled strips covered with a damp towel so they do not form a skin while you work.

Roll with a light, quick hand. If the dough springs back and refuses to lengthen, stop and let it rest for five minutes rather than pressing harder. Push too hard and you get a dense stick. Leave every knot and facet exactly as it is.

Test with the first tray. Break one stick at 26 minutes: a wet, dull center means another 3 to 4 minutes at 325°F (160°C). Ovens differ and a single test saves the rest of the batch.

Rub a few sticks with a little olive oil before baking if you want a richer bite. Add rosemary or fennel seeds to the dough only if you accept that it is no longer the Chieri version.

Common Mistakes

Flouring the bench. The strip slides instead of rolling, the twist disappears and the surface bakes up dusty and bitter. Keep the bench bare and dry, and wipe off any oil or crumbs before you start.

Pulling instead of rolling. Stretching from the ends gives a smooth, even stick with no knots and no bite. Roll it under the palms, and if you feel the dough sliding, check the bench.

Making the dough too wet. Above about 65 percent hydration it sticks to the wood and slumps in the oven. Stay near 60 percent.

Crowding the trays. Sticks touching each other steam instead of dry, leaving pale soft patches. Leave 1 inch (2.5 cm) between them.

Rolling too hard. Heavy pressure squeezes the gas out of the dough completely and produces a dense, hard stick instead of a crisp one. Press lightly and let the hands do the traveling.

Skipping the drying phase. Golden sticks that are damp inside go soft overnight. Finish at 325°F (160°C) until the center is matte.

Wine Pairing

Alta Langa DOCG: The Piedmontese classic method sparkler is the natural companion to a bread served as an aperitivo. Its fine bubbles and brisk acidity cleanse the palate between sticks, while its toasty, yeasty notes mirror the baked crust. It is dry enough to face prosciutto crudo without competing, and serving it very cold keeps the whole table lively.

Roero Arneis DOCG: A dry white from the hills across the Tanaro. Its almond and white pear character rests gently against the toasted wheat, and its moderate acidity keeps salumi and Toma cheese fresh. The light body never overwhelms the delicate, lean crumb, and a young bottle is best.

Gavi DOCG: Crisp and mineral, with citrus and green apple, Gavi cuts the salt on a board of cured meats and the richness of olive oil. Its clean, saline finish echoes the salt scattered on the crust, and its structure suits a bread that is all crunch.

Dolcetto d'Alba DOC: The everyday red of the Langhe, with soft tannin, dark cherry and a pleasant bitter almond finish. Pour it when the sticks arrive with salami or bagna cauda: its low acidity and gentle tannin handle anchovy, garlic and cured pork without heaviness.

Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG: A dry white of high acidity and stony minerality from the Canavese, north of Turin. Its lemon and flint freshness lifts the toasty crust, and its firm structure stands up to sesame seeds and coarse salt. A bright, refreshing choice for a simple table.

Storage & Reheating

Once fully cold, store the sticks in an airtight tin or a jar lined with paper towel at room temperature for up to 7 days. Keep them away from humidity and never put them in the refrigerator, where moisture makes them limp. If you must hold them longer, keep a spoonful of dry rice in a muslin bag at the bottom of the tin.

To refresh softened sticks, spread them on a tray and heat at 300°F (150°C) for 5 to 6 minutes, then cool on a rack until crisp again. Baked sticks can be frozen in a sealed bag for up to 2 months and refreshed the same way, without thawing. Raw dough can be refrigerated overnight in an oiled, covered bowl and brought to room temperature before rolling. Do not store finished sticks in a plastic bag on the counter, because trapped moisture ruins them in a day.