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- #11
Here's the rustic Italian Bread I made today (and a lot of other days, ha!). It's so easy I just do it all by hand in a mixing bowl.
1 Tab dry yeast (that's more than in 1 pkt so measure)
1 Tab sugar
1 Tab salt
2 C warm water
5-6 C all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for dusting the baking sheet
Mix first 4 ingredients and let stand until all are dissolved. Gradually add flour to the liquid and mix until dough pulls away from bowl.
Turn onto floured surface.
Knead 5 minutes. Let dough rest while you clean & lightly oil the mixing bowl. Knead again 2-3 minutes.
Put dough into oiled bowl, flipping once to cover dough with oil. Cover & rise until doubled (1-2 hrs)
Turn dough onto floured surface and cut in half to make 2 loaves.
Place on cornmeal sprinkled baking sheet, cover & let rest 5 min.
Lightly slash tops of loaves 3 times diagonally and brush with cold water.
Place baking sheet with bread in cold oven with pan of boiling water underneath.
Bake at 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
I like this because it makes 2 loaves. My husband usually polishes 1 loaf off the first day (with a little help from me) and the following day we like to use the 2nd loaf for toast, garlic toast or French Toast.
Just a heads up, don't expect this to rise to the height you would get with a traditional white bread loaf. It gets about 3 1/2" tall for me, but that's Italian bread for you.
1 Tab dry yeast (that's more than in 1 pkt so measure)
1 Tab sugar
1 Tab salt
2 C warm water
5-6 C all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for dusting the baking sheet
Mix first 4 ingredients and let stand until all are dissolved. Gradually add flour to the liquid and mix until dough pulls away from bowl.
Turn onto floured surface.
Knead 5 minutes. Let dough rest while you clean & lightly oil the mixing bowl. Knead again 2-3 minutes.
Put dough into oiled bowl, flipping once to cover dough with oil. Cover & rise until doubled (1-2 hrs)
Turn dough onto floured surface and cut in half to make 2 loaves.
Place on cornmeal sprinkled baking sheet, cover & let rest 5 min.
Lightly slash tops of loaves 3 times diagonally and brush with cold water.
Place baking sheet with bread in cold oven with pan of boiling water underneath.
Bake at 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
I like this because it makes 2 loaves. My husband usually polishes 1 loaf off the first day (with a little help from me) and the following day we like to use the 2nd loaf for toast, garlic toast or French Toast.
Just a heads up, don't expect this to rise to the height you would get with a traditional white bread loaf. It gets about 3 1/2" tall for me, but that's Italian bread for you.