Cookingaround : Mushroom Breadsticks

Mushroom Breadsticks - Pierogi Szwedzkie

I remember when my Girlfriend took me to a restaurant in Krakow Poland for the first time that served a very strange pierogi. It was on display and it looked like something I never saw before. Being, at least 2 feet long I thought, how can they make any money just selling this funny mushroom breadstick.

As it turned out, it was really a great meal, and I have to say that the place seemed to be full all the time, everyone gobbling the thing down. It was quite an experience and I have to admit that I did go back a few times.

That is why I just had to come home and copycatted the recipe. Now that was not easy, but I stuck to it and it came out awesome like the real thing. it may not be as long as theirs but just as tasty.

Go ahead and try it, I am sure that it will be a pleaser. Please let me know how yours turned out.

*************************************************************************************************************

Recipe:

1 lbs. - Button or any type mushrooms
1/2 Cup - Butter
1 - Medium - Onion
1 Tsp. - Vinegar
1/2 Tsp. - Salt
1/2 Tsp. - Pepper

Topping
1 - Egg yolk
Splash of water.

Black cumin as needed

Dough
Ready-made or homemade

2 cups - All purpose flour
1 Pkg. - Yeast
Pinch of salt
Splash of milk
2 Tsp. - Cooking oil
Water as needed

For more information please see the video below;

*************************************************************************************************************

It is very important to let most of the water to evaporate from the mushrooms. I would say about 90% of it. Please do not think of draining the excess water and being done with it, because that is where the flavour is and I want to keep it in the mushroom, not down the drain.

Keep the mushroom piled in the middle and that will make the drying process go faster.Keep on stirring on the sides and piling it.

Only add the butter and vinegar when the water has evaporated. If you skip this process, then your mushrooms will be very soggy and have no taste.

To make your life easier you can buy the ready-mix dough at your Supermarket or you make it from scratch. Here I used my food processor to mix up my dough then I let it rest for about 2 hours.

Your dough should be as thin as possible because you do not want a large puffy crust but a nice smooth and round finish.

Now you do not have to use the cardboard stencil like I did here, but I find this keeps them the same size. It takes out the guessing game of trying it free hand.

Make a line with your mushroom mix and please try not to spread it around too much because then it will make it harder to lock in the dough with mushroom at the sealing point.

If you find that the dough slices have shrunken a bit, then just roll it a few times to get it back to its shape.

Now just roll it over and tap it in. making sure that the mushroom is in the rolled part.

Just roll the whole thing over and there you go, a perfect breadstick.

Here I am using cornmeal so the dough will not stick when I am baking it. Now you can use other methods or even baking papers.

Add the egg wash to the tops of the sticks. Now I usually do not do the sides because I find that the yolk accumulates at the bottom of the breadstick and burns during the baking. So I just cover the sides.

Now to top it off "The Black Cumin". This gives a nice around taste to this dish and this type of cumin is good for you. It just finishes it off to a perfect Breadstick.

Your friends and Family will all love this recipe.

That I promise.

*************************************************************************************************************

Mushroom Breadsticks - Pierogi Szwedzkie

Video