Soup Sticks with Sopa de Elote (Mexican Corn Soup)

Soup Sticks or Bread Sticks have been on my mind for a long time now. Every time we are out for dinner and the bread basket is served with fresh bread sticks, I promise myself to try baking them myself over the weekend, but somehow hadn't got around doing that....

Since saturday mornings are baking mornings, today was the day for Bread Sticks.....Finally !!!
I've always associated soup sticks with soup. So how could they be complete without a nice sumptuous soup.
Recently we were at a Mexican restaurant where I tried corn soup, but with the Mexican twist. Quite interesting it was. Since fresh corn is readily available at this time of the year, I let my taste buds guide me in replicating the same soup at home. The recipe mentioned here is my own version and I'm not sure if this is really the authentic Sopa de Elote.
Today in this post the tables have turned and the humble bread stick is my star with some soup for company.

Rolling out bread sticks was fun !! I felt like a 5 year old rolling away my plasticine to make coils or snakes. If you have children at home, involve them in rolling out the dough....they'll love it.
The more I play with the bread dough I realize that it is one of the most versatile doughs. One can add just about any thing.....from dry herbs, fresh herbs, garlic, spices to finely chopped vegetables and each one makes new bread, distinct from the other.

This recipe is a basic dry yeast dough recipe with the addition of 2 tbsp of corn flour for the crispiness.
It makes about 40 sticks.

Bread Sticks or Soup Sticks

Ingredients:
250 g All Purpose Flour
10g (2 tsp) Dry Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
4 tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
3/4 tsp Dry Oregano
1/2 tsp Paprika Powder
1 clove Garlic
Luke warm water to knead the dough

Directions:

1. Activate the dry yeast in 1/4 cup or 50ml lukewarm water and a tsp of sugar.


2. Mix salt, dry oregano, paprika powder, cumin powder, crushed garlic to the flour. Add the oil and rub so the flour looks crumbly.


3. Now add the activated yeast to the flour mix and knead with a little lukewarm water.


4. Knead the dough and prove it for an hour. When the dough has doubled up, gently punch it down. Add 2 tbsp of cornflour and knead again. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and roll out to a thickness of 1/4 of a centimeter. Cut the dough disc in strips. About 10-12 strips depending on how thick or thin you cut them.


5. Take each strip and roll it into the desired thickness and length. At this stage if you need to roll out the strip entirely again or redo it a couple of times, go ahead without worrying. More kneading or redoing will not change the character of the dough.


6. Place them on a greased and lined baking tray at a distance of 1/2 inch. Let it rest for 15 minutes and then bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.


7. Repeat with the remaining dough.


8. Once baked, transfer on a wire rack to cool down and store in an air tight container.


9. You can safely store them for 5-7 days  (if they are not polished off  by then. :-)

Sopa de Elote (Mexican Corn Soup)

Ingredients

750g Boiled corn kernels

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Clove Garlic crushed

1 Onion finely chopped

6 cups Vegetable Stock
2 tsp All Purpose Flour mixed in 1/4 cup cold water

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Cut 1/4 of a piece of each of the bell peppers and chop it finely and keep aside.


2. Roast the remaining 3/4 of the bell peppers in an oven at 250 degree centigrade for 10 minutes.


3. Crush the corn (leave aside 1/2 cup to ad in the soup) and the roasted bell peppers to a smooth creamy paste in a blender.


4. Take a pot on the fire, add 2 tbsp oil. Once the oil is warm, add garlic. Saute`. Add onion. Saute`. Now add the remaining finely chopped bell pepper and saute` further for 2 minutes.


5. Add the corn-bell pepper cream or paste . Cook on high for another minute or so. Add the vegetable stock, salt and freshly ground coarse black pepper. Lastly add the flour mixed in cold water and let it boil.


6. After the first boil, let it simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat. Keep stirring in between.

Serve with bread sticks.