Luis Troyano's tikka masala breadsticks recipe
These breadsticks will blow your socks off. Fragrant and crispy, every now and then while eating them you hit a sultana for a sweet fruit burst. They are really easy to make and go brilliantly with…well anything. They are fantastic as a snack or on a buffet table. Get down to your local Indian store for the gram flour (also known as besan, or chickpea flour), golden sultanas and spices. I’ve also included an alternative for basil and Parmesan breadsticks using the same technique. Experiment with different flavours to develop your own unique breadsticks.
Makes 20 sticks. Preparation time includes two proves.
Optimum oven position and setting: centre and no fan, with a baking stone
Essential equipment:
- Two baking sheets; mine are aluminium and measure 38 x 32cm. Line these with non-stick baking parchment
- Two large bags for proving
Variation:
Basil and Parmesan breadsticks
Follow the same technique for this tasty alternative. Replace the gram flour with strong white bread flour and all the spices, sultanas and sesame seeds with 3 tsp dried basil, 2 tsp poppy seeds and 50g finely grated Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 300 g strong white bread flour
- 40 g gram flour
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 25 g caster sugar
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 0.5 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 200 ml cool water
- 1 splash rapeseed oil, for greasing
- 60 g golden sultanas
- 1 handful rice flour or fine semolina for dusting
- 10.6 oz strong white bread flour
- 1.4 oz gram flour
- 0.2 oz instant yeast
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 0.9 oz caster sugar
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 0.5 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 7 fl oz cool water
- 1 splash rapeseed oil, for greasing
- 2.1 oz golden sultanas
- 1 handful rice flour or fine semolina for dusting
- 10.6 oz strong white bread flour
- 1.4 oz gram flour
- 0.2 oz instant yeast
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 0.9 oz caster sugar
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 0.5 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 0.8 cup cool water
- 1 splash rapeseed oil, for greasing
- 2.1 oz golden sultanas
- 1 handful rice flour or fine semolina for dusting
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Bread
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 120 mins
- Cooking Time: 15 mins
- Serves: 10
Step-by-step
- Place all the dry ingredients, including the spices and 1 tablespoon of the sesame seeds (leave the golden sultanas on one side for now) in a large bowl. When adding the yeast and salt, place them at opposite sides of the bowl.
- Add the olive oil and two-thirds of the water to the flour mixture and begin to mix it all together with your fingers – or use a kitchen mixer with a dough hook.
- Add more water gradually until all the dry ingredients are picked up and you have a soft dough. You may not need all of the water.
- Tip the mixture out onto a clean surface and knead it for about 10 minutes. You will work through the initial wet stage and eventually end up with smooth, soft, silky dough. If you are using a kitchen mixer, knead it for about 6 minutes.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with clingfilm or a shower cap and leave it on one side until doubled in size. Depending on your room temperature, this can take 1 hour, but it’s fine to leave it for 2 hours.
- Dust your work surface with rice flour or semolina and tip the dough out onto it. (Using semolina will add a slight crunch to your breadsticks.) Flatten the dough to a rough rectangle and spread the sultanas over it. Fold it over on itself several times to distribute them evenly throughout.
- Dust your work surface with more rice flour or semolina and roll out the dough to a 28 x 20cm rectangle. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the remaining sesame seeds and use the rolling pin to gently press them into the dough.
- Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 20 strips, 1cm wide, and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Alternatively, you can make the breadsticks a little more rustic by dividing the dough into 20 equal pieces and rolling them into thin sausage shapes, 28cm long.
- Cover them with a tea towel and leave them to prove for about 20 minutes until slightly puffed up.
- While the breadsticks prove, preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas mark 7.
- Bake each tray of breadsticks separately for about 10–12 minutes. They should be a deep golden colour and crisp.
- Place on wire racks to cool. Best eaten on the day of baking.
Luis Troyano's new book Bake it Great is out now. Recipe images by Clare Winfield.
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