SNAKEY BREADSTICKS RECIPE

Dunk these little guys in soup

“I love making bread because you can bash it around with your hands,” says Bake Off winner David Atherton. “It can be tricky to roll out, but don’t rush, and eventually you’ll get a lovely long (and a little scary-looking) snake. Remember that they will rise in the oven, so you need to make them very thin, but you can twist them into any shape you want. “I like to make breadsticks swim in some soup – Soupy tea (in the book) goes well with this recipe – before I bite the head off.” Snakey breadsticks from My First Cook Book: Make, Bake & Learn to Cook

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes 8 breadsticks)

300g plain flour

2tsp table salt

2tsp sweet paprika

2tsp fast-action yeast

1 medium carrot

70ml milk

100ml warm water

Coarse polenta or cornmeal and poppy seeds to decorate 1 red pepper

16 currants

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan assisted).

2. Put the flour, salt, paprika and yeast in a mixing bowl.

3. Peel and finely grate the carrot.

4. Mix the carrot, milk and water in a jug.

5. Pour the carrot mixture into the bowl and stir until you have a sticky dough.

6. Cover with a damp cloth for 10 minutes.

7. Knead the dough on a floured surface for five minutes (it may be sticky, but don’t add any more flour).

8. Put it back in the bowl and cover with a damp cloth until it has doubled in size. (This may take up to an hour).

9. Punch all the air out of it and divide into eight pieces.

10. Dust your worktop with flour and use your hands to roll a piece of dough into a long thin sausage.

11. Sprinkle some poppy seeds and polenta onto a plate and then roll your bread snake in it.

12. Choose one end to be the head, cut a little mouth with scissors and add a tongue made from red pepper. Add currants for eyes.

13. Shape the snakes on baking trays with baking paper. Leave for 10 minutes and then bake for eight to 10 minutes until golden brown

. My First Cook Book: Make, Bake & Learn to Cook is written by David Atherton and illustrated by Rachel Stubbs, priced £14.99. Text (c) 2020 Nomadbaker Ltd. Illustrations (c) 2020 Rachel Stubbs. Additional Illustrations (c) 2020 Walker Books Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ (walker.co.uk)