Best Basic Italian Bread Recipes

BASIC ITALIAN BREAD BY EMERIL LAGASSE

Steps:

• Place the water and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. Using a dough hook attachment, add the flour and sugar to the water and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Drizzle the oil and salt into the dough and beat on medium speed for 8 to 10 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, draft-free place for 11/2 hours or until doubled in size. 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. The dough should be elongated and oval-shaped, with tapered and rounded (not pointed) ends.
• Preheat the oven lined with a pizza stone to 425 degrees F. Alternately, an inverted baking sheet may be used in place of a pizza stone.
• Place the dough on a baker's peel heavily dusted with semolina flour, or cornmeal, or alternately on an inverted baking sheet. Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a damp towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, score 3 (1/4-inch deep) slashes across the top of the dough at a 45 degree angle.
• Spray the dough generously with water from a water bottle and place in the oven on the baking stone. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Close the oven door and bake for an additional 3 minutes before spraying the dough for a third time (the spraying of the dough will ensure a crisp golden brown crust). Bake the dough for 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when the bread is whacked with the bowl of a wooden spoon. Allow the bread to cool slightly before serving.

BASIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Place the water and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. Using a dough hook attachment, add the flour and sugar to the water and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Drizzle the oil and salt into the dough and beat on medium speed for 8 to 10 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, draft-free place for 11/2 hours or until doubled in size. 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. The dough should be elongated and oval-shaped, with tapered and rounded (not pointed) ends.
• Preheat the oven lined with a pizza stone to 425 degrees F. Alternately, an inverted baking sheet may be used in place of a pizza stone.
• Place the dough on a baker's peel heavily dusted with semolina flour, or cornmeal, or alternately on an inverted baking sheet. Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a damp towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, score 3 (1/4-inch deep) slashes across the top of the dough at a 45 degree angle.
• Spray the dough generously with water from a water bottle and place in the oven on the baking stone. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Close the oven door and bake for an additional 3 minutes before spraying the dough for a third time (the spraying of the dough will ensure a crisp golden brown crust). Bake the dough for 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when the bread is whacked with the bowl of a wooden spoon. Allow the bread to cool slightly before serving.

BASIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Biga: Mix the yeast and water together, and then slowly start adding the flour, mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for up to 6 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
• Bread: Place the water in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over top and mix well. Let sit 10 minutes until bubbly.
• Add the biga, flour, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon (or mix with your hands) until everything is mixed. The dough will be fairly wet and sticky at this point.
• Cover and let stand in a warm spot for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in volume. Punch down the dough, folding it over on itself two or three times, cover and let rise once more until doubled, about 1 hour.
• To bake the following day, refrigerate the dough at this time and leave it overnight.
• Turn out your dough onto a floured baking sheet, and without overworking it too much, shape into one large or two smaller round or oval shaped loaves, using as much extra flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Slash across the tops of the loaves with a serrated knife or razor just prior to baking.
• Preheat the oven to 350° F and place a casserole dish with boiling water on the lower oven rack. Bake for 30 minutes, turn the baking sheet around, and reduce the heat to 300°F and bake for another 30-45 minutes. Bread should be golden brown and should sound hollow when you tap the bottom.
• Allow the bread to cool to room temperature and serve.
• Baking Tip: You could also use a baguette pan to make long thin loaves, or spread your dough across a well-oiled cookie sheet to make focaccia.
• Variations:*Roasted Garlic & Basil Bread: Coarsely chop 1-2 heads (bulbs) roasted garlic and add to flour along with about 1 teaspoon crushed dried basil.
• Rosemary Bread: Add 4 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary to the flour. Brush the loaves with water and sprinkle with coarse sea salt just prior to baking.
• Olive Bread: Add 12 ounces flavorful, pitted olives, coarsely chopped to the flour.
• *To roast garlic: Heat oven to 350°F Peel away paper like skin from around the garlic bulbs leaving just enough to hold bulb intact. Trim tops of garlic bulbs about 1/2 inch to expose cloves. Place bulbs stem ends down on 12 inch square of foil. Drizzle each bulb with 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil. Wrap securely in foil and place in pie plate or shallow baking pan.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until garlic is tender when pierced with toothpick or fork.
• Cool slightly. Gently squeeze garlic out of cloves (1 ounce bulb of roasted garlic= about 1 Tablespoon mashed garlic).

PAT'S BASIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the dry yeast and teaspoon of sugar in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Allow the yeast to proof until it is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining water.
• Add 3 cups of the flour and the salt, stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat well with a wooden spoon. Continue adding the flour, one cup at a time, stirring after each addition until you have a sticky, hard to stir dough. (You may not need to add all of it, depending on humidity and temperature of the room, so watch when you get close to the eighth cup so you don't add too much.) Work the mixture until it comes together in a ball. Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead it for 5-10 minutes, folding the dough over on itself, until it is shiny and elastic. Add flour as necessary to keep from sticking to the surface. It should still be slightly sticky but workable.
• Grease the bowl generously with olive oil. Put the dough in it and turn to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and cover that with a towel. Place in a warm place away from drafts. Let the dough rise until double in size. The more slowly the dough rises, the tangier the flavor will be. Punch the dough down, cover again and let rise again, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare pans by oiling the loaf pans, greasing the baking pans or sprinkling the stones with cornmeal. Preheat the oven to 400°.
• When the dough rises the second time, remove from the bowl and knead a few times. Cut in half and shape the dough into 2 loaves. sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on the work surface and roll the loaves in the seeds. Place the loaves in the pans or on the stones/baking sheet. Spray a little water on the loaves to keep the seeds from falling off. You can also beat an egg white with a teaspoon of water and brush on the bread before sprinkling with sesame seeds. The seeds tend to hold better with the egg white.
• Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes or until double in size. Spray the loaves with water again and place in the hot oven for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is a golden brown and the loaf is hollow sounding when the bottom is tapped with your knuckles. Transfer loaves to a wire rack and let cool completely.