Best Fast Italian Bread Salad Recipes

EASY ITALIAN BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Brush both sides of bread with 1 tablespoon oil. Place on a baking sheet. Broil 4 in. from the heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Cut into 1-in. cubes. , In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and cheese. Divide among four lettuce-lined salad plates. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, garlic, basil and remaining oil. Drizzle over salads. Serve immediately.

PANZANELLA (ITALIAN TOMATO AND BREAD SALAD)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C /350°F (160°C fan).
• Toss bread chunks with 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.
• Toast: Spread bread on a a tray and toast for about 15 minutes, until the outside is becoming golden and crunchy but the inside is still a little soft, like toast. Remove and leave to cool.
• Cut tomato into 8 wedges each. Cut some of these wedges into half (I like irregular shapes for this rustic salad).
• Sweat tomato with salt: Put tomatoes into a colander over a large bowl. Season with the salt, toss and set aside for 10 minutes to draw out the juices. RESERVE the tomato juice in the bowl for the dressing.
• Cut cucumber into any shaped chunks aroun 2.5cm / 1" pieces. Again, I like to do irregular but even-sized shapes.
• Toss veg: Place tomato sweating in colander into large bowl. Add cucumber and basil, toss gently.
• Tomato Dressing: Add Dressing ingredients into bowl holding the tomato juice, whisk well.
• Dress salad: Add bread to salad, pour over dressing. Give it a light toss.
• Rest then serve: Leave for 5 minutes to let the juices soak into the bread, tossing once or twice. Toss once more just 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.

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.

ITALIAN BREAD SALAD (PANZANELLA)

Steps:

• If your bread is very hard, douse it with water first and saw it into a few pieces that will fit into a medium bowl. Cover with the onions. Pour on cold water to cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Lift the onions off the bread and rinse in a strainer. Drain the bread, squeeze out excess water and crumble the bread into a salad bowl.
• Add the tomatoes, basil, and parsley to the bowl. Mix together the vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and toss with the bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer before serving.

QUICK ITALIAN SALAD

Steps:

• For the dressing: In a blender, add the olive oil, mayonnaise, Parmesan, parsley, sugar, vinegar, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic and lemon juice and blend until pureed.
• For the salad: Put the romaine and iceberg greens in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Top the salad with the pepperoncini, olives, tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle with Parmesan at the end.

ITALIAN BREAD SALAD WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place bread cubes in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix oil, garlic and pepper; drizzle 3 tablespoons over bread and toss to coat. Reserve remaining oil mixture. Spread in a single layer on two 15x10x1-in. baking pans., Bake until crisp and light brown, 12-18 minutes, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, whisk vinegar and salt into reserved oil mixture. Add tomatoes, olives and herbs; toss to coat., Cool bread cubes slightly. Add to tomato mixture; toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese; serve immediately.

PANZANELLA (ITALIAN BREAD SALAD)

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic and basil.
• Drizzle with the 1/2 cup olive oil and the 3 tblsps vinegar, season with salt and pepper and toss well.
• Place half of the bread in a wide, shallow bowl.
• Spoon half of the tomato mixture over the bread.
• Layer the remaining bread on top and then the remaining tomato mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Just before serving, toss the salad and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
• If the bread seems dry, add a little oil or vinegar.
• Serve immediately.