Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Crusty Italian Bread

If you've been following the blog from its inception, you will know I love making bread. So far I've shared a Cinnamon Raisin Bread, a Maple Whole Wheat Bread and a French Bread. This past Christmas I got an Italian Loaf Pan. I really wasn't sure how to use it. The directions said use a solid, sturdy dough. The dough from the French Bread is really sticky so I didn't think it would be a good tester loaf. So I started exploring and I found this great recipe from Cook Like Your Grandmother. It wasn't easy to find either, it was tucked away on the 10th page of Google results.






































This bread is a little time intensive, but I've found if you decrease the rising times it still works out beautifully. I would recommend rising 1 hour for the first rise, 20 minutes for the second rise. This is a serious reduction of the original rising time. If you have the time, do the full 2 hours and 40 minutes of rising, but if you don't, don't be afraid to decrease the time.










After the first rise, take the entire ball of dough and roll it into a long loaf then cut it in half with a dough cutter and line on your Italian Loaf Pan. According to the original recipe, you can also bake the loaves on a pizza stone or on the back of a baking sheet, so don't worry if you don't have an Italian loaf pan, although it helps make a crusty bread.



The bread goes great with anything. Traditionally we have it with spaghetti on nights before long runs, but we've also had it with pasta and peas and most recently as a sandwich with Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausages sauteed with peppers and onions. It's also great paired with a soup.


For more detailed instructions, check out Cook Like Your Grandmother's post. The author, Drew Kime, provides step-by-step instructions. 

Crusty Italian Bread Adapted from Cook Like Your Grandmother

Ingredients

  • 2     1/4 tsp instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water   

  • 1 cup warm water

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

  •  1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Combine yeast and 1/4 cup warm water in small bowl. Let sit 3 minutes or until small bubbles form and yeast dissolves.

Pour 1 cup warm water in large bowl. Add dissolved yeast. Combine.

Add flour, sugar and salt. Mix until combined.

Once combined, add olive oil.

Knead for five minutes. Transfer dough to oiled bowl. Let rise one hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll dough in long loaf. Cut in half. Place on Italian loaf pan. Let rise 20 minutes.

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 400 degrees. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Cover loaves with aluminum foil. Continue to bake an additional 10 minutes.


10 comments:

  1. What perfect Italian loaves! I know I don't need one of those loaf pans...but I really want one :)

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    1. Thanks Liz! I'm wary of one time use kitchen tools, but I actually use this one pretty frequently. Try the bread with what you have first. If it's crunchy enough for your taste, then you don't need the pan. If it's not crunchy enough, consider getting the Italian Loaf Pan.

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  2. I love baking bread too. I have yet to try Italian bread but making yours would definitely save me the money I spend buying it at the store.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Lisa! This bread comes together easily. Please let me know if you try it!

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  3. Your bread is beautiful! I still have yet to bake my own bread using yeast. You are definitely giving me motivation!

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    1. Thank you, Eva! It's pretty easy to make this bread. If you have any questions, please let me know and I'd be glad to help!

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  4. Your bread looks gorgeous and super tasty. I'm going to make it today to serve with our soup for dinner. Thanks. I've never tried making this kind of bread before. :)

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    1. I'm so flattered, Lori! It will be great with soup. Please fill me in how it turns out. I can't wait to hear.

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  5. I am super impressed with your mad baking skills! Whenever I make bread, it turns out disgusting.

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    1. Thanks Nicole! Don't give up on bread. I've made some bad ones, too. I think it comes down to patience and the right recipe.

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