When I was in France, almost 40 years ago, I remember buying these delicious cheese sticks. I remember them being crunchy and light and filled with Swiss cheese flavor. One of many fond memories of France.
Fast forward some 20 or so years, and I remember a bakery in Austin, Texas, Upper Crust Bakery, that had these delicious Cheese Sticks. They might have called them Cheese Twists, and they were nothing like the ones from France, except that they were crunchy and light, just not as light as the ones from France. Upper Crust Bakery used a Cheddar, at least I think that was it, and they were delicious. I used to stop in there when I passed and buy as many as I could afford, or as many as they had left.
One day, they stopped having them. Now, I wasn’t able to get there as often as I would like, and I have checked back several times, and nothing.
Now, as you might imagine, I have been looking for a way to get these delicious things that I remember, and not long ago, I watched the Hairy Bikers making something and it sparked my imagination. They made twists, with Parma ham and gorganzola, and you can find the recipe here.
I tried this once before using Philo Dough, but that turned out to be way too much work and while the result was edible, even approaching tasty, it was not really a success.
This time I tried Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry sheets and some Extra Sharp Cheddar. I unrolled the dough, spread on some butter and then sprinkled on cheese. I folded it, rolled it out, trying to get is to the original thickness and then repeated the process about four times, using about 4 oz of cheese.
Now, one problem is that I was doing this on Super Bowl Sunday, and my Niners were playing, so I was not in the mood to experiment with backing. I cut the dough into strips, attempted to twist them, and loaded up our baking stone at 350 degrees.
When I checked on them later, they had sort of fallen over and partially opened up, and the grease dripping from them was phenomenal. They did not look too appetizing, so I tried flipping them over. That got both sides crispy, and they were pretty good.
I have still got more than a little way to go before they match my memories, but I think I might be on the right trail. Next time, no butter, more cheese, and I am going to experiment with cooking, both on a pan, and on the baking stone. More news at 11.
Fast forward some 20 or so years, and I remember a bakery in Austin, Texas, Upper Crust Bakery, that had these delicious Cheese Sticks. They might have called them Cheese Twists, and they were nothing like the ones from France, except that they were crunchy and light, just not as light as the ones from France. Upper Crust Bakery used a Cheddar, at least I think that was it, and they were delicious. I used to stop in there when I passed and buy as many as I could afford, or as many as they had left.
One day, they stopped having them. Now, I wasn’t able to get there as often as I would like, and I have checked back several times, and nothing.
Now, as you might imagine, I have been looking for a way to get these delicious things that I remember, and not long ago, I watched the Hairy Bikers making something and it sparked my imagination. They made twists, with Parma ham and gorganzola, and you can find the recipe here.
I tried this once before using Philo Dough, but that turned out to be way too much work and while the result was edible, even approaching tasty, it was not really a success.
This time I tried Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry sheets and some Extra Sharp Cheddar. I unrolled the dough, spread on some butter and then sprinkled on cheese. I folded it, rolled it out, trying to get is to the original thickness and then repeated the process about four times, using about 4 oz of cheese.
Now, one problem is that I was doing this on Super Bowl Sunday, and my Niners were playing, so I was not in the mood to experiment with backing. I cut the dough into strips, attempted to twist them, and loaded up our baking stone at 350 degrees.
When I checked on them later, they had sort of fallen over and partially opened up, and the grease dripping from them was phenomenal. They did not look too appetizing, so I tried flipping them over. That got both sides crispy, and they were pretty good.
I have still got more than a little way to go before they match my memories, but I think I might be on the right trail. Next time, no butter, more cheese, and I am going to experiment with cooking, both on a pan, and on the baking stone. More news at 11.
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