Ingredients

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line large rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.

• Divide the puff pastry in half, and reserve half for another use (wrap tightly and freeze, or refrigerate if plan to use it within the week). Divide the remaining half into three equal parts, about 4 ounces each. Place two of the three pieces of puff pastry in the refrigerator. Place the third piece of puff pastry on a well-floured flat and portable surface, and, flouring it as necessary to keep it from sticking, roll it into a rectangle that is about 1/8-inch thick (about the thickness of a nickel). The rectangle should be about 12-inches x 14-inches, but the thickness is much more important than the length and width. If the puff pastry becomes so soft that it begins to stick quite a lot, place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes before you continue working with it. Use a bench scraper to ensure that the bottom of the puff pastry is not sticking to the floured surface.

• Using a pastry brush, brush about half of the puff pastry rectangle along the length with the egg wash very lightly. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on the other, bare half of the rectangle. Carefully fold the half with the egg wash up and over the half with the grated cheese, and press down gently to seal. You will now have a rectangle that is at least 1/4-inch thick, and about 6-inches x 14-inches. Sprinkle the rectangle lightly with more flour. Pressing very, very gently with the rolling pin, roll out the rectangle until it is a bit more than 1/8-inch thick, and approximately 9-inches wide. Again, if the puff pastry becomes so soft that it begins to stick quite a lot, place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes before you continue working with it.

• Using a pastry brush, brush the entire top of the puff pastry rectangle with the egg wash very lightly. Sprinkle with an even but spare layer of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, coarse salt and poppy seeds. Cover with a sheet of unbleached parchment paper, and press down evenly but gently to help the toppings adhere to the pastry. Remove the parchment paper, and slice the pastry along the length with a pastry wheel or sharp knife (or even a pizza cutter) into 10 strips, each about 3/4-inch wide. Separate the strips and place, about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Again, if necessary, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes until the pastry is firm enough to handle (but not brittle).

• Holding the strips of pastry at each end, gently and carefully twist the strips into spirals. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the twists are very firm (between 5 and 10 minutes).* Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake (rotating once) until the straws are crisp, puffed and lightly brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of puff pastry.

• *At this point, the straws can be wrapped and kept in the freezer for at least a month before baking directly from the frozen.