Just Italian Bread Recipes

MAMA D'S ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.
• Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino's behind. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. (I put it in the oven with the light on - perfect rising temperature.)
• Once doubled, punch down and divide into three. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.
• Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat "footballs." Grease heavy cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.
• Once risen, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Mist loaves with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

CRUSTY ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Dissolve the yeast in a quarter-cup of warm water. You should actually check the temperature of the water. Too cold and it won't activate, too hot and you can kill the yeast.
• 2. Give the yeast a few minutes, until it starts bubbling, then mix it in with the rest of the warm water.
• 3. Add the flour, sugar and salt and stir.
• 4. Don't add the oil until after you've worked the water and flour together. Otherwise the oil will coat the proteins and prevent gluten formation. Gluten lets the dough stretch when it rises, making it light and chewy instead of crumbling like cake.
• 5. After mixing the oil in, turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface to knead.
• 6. Stretch the dough away from you, fold it back, turn a quarter turn and repeat. Once the dough is well incorporated, slap it on the surface a few times. This will encourage more gluten production leading to a lighter, airier bread.
• 7. When the dough is smooth and silky, continue kneading for another several minutes. You can work it with both hands and keep turning the dough, or just hit it from opposite angles with each hand.
• 8. Once the dough is thoroughly kneaded, place it in an oiled bowl. Toss the dough around so it is coated with oil all the way around.
• 9. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, pressed right up against the dough. This will prevent a skin from forming on the dough, allowing it to rise more.
• 10. Put the bowl someplace warm until the dough has doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• 11. Pre-heat the oven to 425°. If you have a pizza stone, put it on the bottom rack. Otherwise, place a baking sheet upside-down on the bottom rack. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and punch down to knock out most of the air out. Don't go crazy and try to turn it into a pancake. Just give it a quick couple of hits.
• 12. Roll the dough out into a loaf shape and cut it in half. You can form the halves into loaves or, like I did here, divide each half into three smaller pieces.
• 13. Roll out the pieces of dough until they are about 6-9 inches long.
• 14. If you have a peel (the large wooden spatula you see in pizza shops) use that. If not, a wooden cutting board will work. Dust it with cornmeal so the dough doesn't stick.
• 15. Cover the loaves with plastic and allow to rise for another 40 minutes. They should roughly double in width.
• 16. Cut each loaf down the middle with the sharpest blade you have. If you don't have anything that is absolutely razor sharp, use a razor blade. You want to cut about a quarter-inch deep in a single quick stroke without sawing back-and-forth. This will prevent the bread from bursting open when it rises in the oven.
• 17. Transfer the loaves onto the baking stone. Leave room between loaves for them to rise some more. If they don't all fit on your stone, put the rest on an upside-down baking sheet.
• 18. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 400° and bake another 25-30 minutes. To check if they're done, pick one loaf up and thump on the bottom with your thumb. If it has a hollow sound, it's done. If you want really crusty bread, great for dipping in olive oil or marinara sauce, place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. The steam will keep a skin from forming too fast, giving the bread more time to rise. It will also make the crust crisper. Don't put the loaves near the top. The radiant heat from the top of the stove will brown the crust too much, too fast. Serve immediately with butter, or with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• 1. blend the 2 cups water, shortening, salt together and add to the yeast mixture. Note use Shortening generously threw out process,, this tends to improve the texture in the bread
• 2. I should have suggested to dissolve yeast in mixer bowl... with dough hook at medium low speed start adding flour a cup at a time for the first 6 cups then let rest 5 minutes... same speed start adding the remaining flour as needed ,,, when dough starts pulling away from bowl and you can feel the dough for wetness..
• 3. have counter working space with sprinkles of flour and pull dough from pan.. A plastic dough knife comes in handy to scrape stuck dough. keep hands floured as you spread out dough in a large circle with finger tips hard to counter top... sprinkle the top surface with flour and begin to knead until dough is right to the feel,, for this you need experience..
• 4. divide dough in half, cover,, wool is a good cloth to cover the dough as it will not marry to the wool ...let dough rest while you heat oven to 400 and grease 2 bread loaf pans,, set aside... one pile of dough at a time punch down and spread out as in rectangle... I just roll it with my hands into the length of a bread pans and place inside and repeat with other half. cover and let rise till double in size..
• 5. place pans sort of evenly apart an lower middle rack and 20 - 30 minutes.. should be nice golden dark color,, when done remove from oven then loaves onto a wire rack laying on there sides... let cool..

CRUSTY ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Dissolve the yeast in a quarter-cup of warm water. You should actually check the temperature of the water. Too cold and it won't activate, too hot and you can kill the yeast.
• 2. Give the yeast a few minutes, until it starts bubbling, then mix it in with the rest of the warm water.
• 3. Add the flour, sugar and salt and stir.
• 4. Don't add the oil until after you've worked the water and flour together. Otherwise the oil will coat the proteins and prevent gluten formation. Gluten lets the dough stretch when it rises, making it light and chewy instead of crumbling like cake.
• 5. After mixing the oil in, turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface to knead.
• 6. Stretch the dough away from you, fold it back, turn a quarter turn and repeat. Once the dough is well incorporated, slap it on the surface a few times. This will encourage more gluten production leading to a lighter, airier bread.
• 7. When the dough is smooth and silky, continue kneading for another several minutes. You can work it with both hands and keep turning the dough, or just hit it from opposite angles with each hand.
• 8. Once the dough is thoroughly kneaded, place it in an oiled bowl. Toss the dough around so it is coated with oil all the way around.
• 9. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, pressed right up against the dough. This will prevent a skin from forming on the dough, allowing it to rise more.
• 10. Put the bowl someplace warm until the dough has doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• 11. Pre-heat the oven to 425°. If you have a pizza stone, put it on the bottom rack. Otherwise, place a baking sheet upside-down on the bottom rack. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and punch down to knock out most of the air out. Don't go crazy and try to turn it into a pancake. Just give it a quick couple of hits.
• 12. Roll the dough out into a loaf shape and cut it in half. You can form the halves into loaves or, like I did here, divide each half into three smaller pieces.
• 13. Roll out the pieces of dough until they are about 6-9 inches long.
• 14. If you have a peel (the large wooden spatula you see in pizza shops) use that. If not, a wooden cutting board will work. Dust it with cornmeal so the dough doesn't stick.
• 15. Cover the loaves with plastic and allow to rise for another 40 minutes. They should roughly double in width.
• 16. Cut each loaf down the middle with the sharpest blade you have. If you don't have anything that is absolutely razor sharp, use a razor blade. You want to cut about a quarter-inch deep in a single quick stroke without sawing back-and-forth. This will prevent the bread from bursting open when it rises in the oven.
• 17. Transfer the loaves onto the baking stone. Leave room between loaves for them to rise some more. If they don't all fit on your stone, put the rest on an upside-down baking sheet.
• 18. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 400° and bake another 25-30 minutes. To check if they're done, pick one loaf up and thump on the bottom with your thumb. If it has a hollow sound, it's done. If you want really crusty bread, great for dipping in olive oil or marinara sauce, place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. The steam will keep a skin from forming too fast, giving the bread more time to rise. It will also make the crust crisper. Don't put the loaves near the top. The radiant heat from the top of the stove will brown the crust too much, too fast. Serve immediately with butter, or with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

MOM'S ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into a loaf. Place each loaf seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. With a sharp knife, make 4 shallow slashes across top of each loaf. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

JUST ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Cover and leave in warm place until frothy--approximately 5-10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift 3 cups flour with salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center.
• Pour yeast/water mixture, Agave, oil, and 1 cup extra water into the well.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir until mixture is well-combined and forms a rough ball. Turn out onto a lightly-floured surface, and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add extra flour as necessary to form a smooth ball.
• Place dough in large, lightly oiled bowl. Brush surface of dough with oil. Cover and leave to rise in warm place for about 1 hour or until well risen.
• Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal.
• Punch down dough and knead for 1 minute. Shape dough into smooth ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Slightly flatten top.
• Using a sharp knife, slash a criss-cross/checkerboard pattern into the top of the dough. Cover and leave to rise in warm place for about 1 hour or until well risen.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Place a shallow baking dish containing 2 cups of water in the bottom of the oven to help bread form a hard crust.
• Brush dough with glaze of water and salt; sprinkle with cornmeal or flour.
• Bake 35-40 minutes or until base of bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

FLUFFY ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into a loaf. Place each loaf seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across top of each loaf.
• Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

BEST EVER ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Stir the yeast into lukewarm water and set aside.
• Combine 5 cups flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the yeast mixture, remaining water and olive oil. Using a dough hook attachment, mix on lowest speed of electric mixer (stir setting on a KitchenAid) until a dough starts to form, adding more flour as needed. Knead on low speed (2 on a KitchenAid) for 7 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and need by hand for 1 to 2 minutes, or until a smooth, firm, elastic dough is formed.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and spray the dough with a thin coating of cooking spray. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof in a warm place for 1½ hours or until doubled in size. I usually put mine in a SLIGHTLY warmed oven.
• Remove the plastic wrap, punch down and flatten the rounded dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the dough up tightly, sealing the seam well after each roll.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F and place an empty baking pan on bottom rack. This will be used later to create steam.
• Place the dough on a inverted baking sheet that has been dusted with flour. Cover with a towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Brush the dough with the egg white, and then slash the dough lengthwise about 1/4-inch deep in three spots.
• Place the pan of dough on the top rack, and pour a large cup of water into the warmed baking pan on the bottom rack.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when tapping the bottom of the bread. Allow the bread to cool before slicing.

CLASSIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Add sugar and yeast to warm water in large mixing bowl and let dissolve.
• Gradually add salt and flour to liquid and mix thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
• Turn out onto floured surface to knead.
• Knead dough for about 3 minutes.
• Allow dough to rest about 5 minutes.
• While dough is resting, scrape mixing bowl and grease (either spray with Pam or swirl about 1 tablespoon oil up sides of bowl).
• After dough has rested, knead about 3 minutes more, until bouncy and smooth.
• Place dough in bowl and turn over once to grease top.
• Cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
• Punch down.
• Let dough rise again until doubled (optional).
• Punch down and knead briefly.
• Cut dough in half and shape into 2 loaves.
• To shape into loaves: pat each half into a rectangular shape, about 8 x 12 inches.
• Roll dough tightly from short end, pinching end to seal.
• Place pinched side on bottom and fold ends under loaf to make loaf shape.
• Place loaves on baking sheet generously sprinkled with corn meal and slash tops. Let dough rest, covered, an additional 10 minutes.
• For Quick Baking: Brush loaves with cold water. Place on rack in cold oven. Bake at 400 for 35-40, until crust is golden brown and hollow to the touch.
• For Traditional Baking: For a lighter, crustier bread, let the loaves rise another 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 for 15 minutes. Pour 2-3 cups boiling water into a roasting pan and carefully place the pan on the bottom of the oven. Place bread on rack above pan and bake 20 minutes. Turn off oven and allow bread to remain for 5 more minutes.