Easy Italian Bread

Chef Glaucia's Note:

This is my family's favorite bread when we decide to have paninis for lunch !!!

• Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 12.0 slices

• 1 cup water (120 to 130 F)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in bread machine pan. Process on dough setting.
2. At the end of the cycle, remove dough from machine; place it on parchment paper. Punch down dough. Shape dough into baguete-shaped loaf about 12 inches long.
3. Place loaf on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet and with sharp knife, make 1 deep lenghtwise slash in top of loaf. Cover; let rise in warm place for about 1 hour.
4. Brush loaf with egg white, if desired. Heat oven to 375º F. Bake loaf for 25 to 35 minutes.
5. Variation: You can add 1 tsp dark sesame oil to the recipe if you desire. Sprinkle the loaf with same sesame seeds before putting it in the oven.

Reviews

[stonecoldcrazy]

Yum! This was easy to make. I don't have a bread machine so I kneaded it by hand. After allowing it to rise, the loaf was a huge blob that I had to reshape into a loaf before baking. I sprinkled the top with garlic powder and kosher salt. Planning on using it to make garlic bread later tonight but had to sneak a piece- yum!!

[Chef #1172943]

I MADE BREAD!!!! This is a first for me (can you tell?) My husband said it was very good for my first "eatable loaf"...and that's saying something. I've been trying to make bread for well over a month, with some really weird results and lots of wasted flour. I can't believe it was that easy and turned out so well. I'm 60+ and never had the elbows needed to "knead", so this recipe with a bread machine was great. It goes to the top of my list.

[Janni402]

Made this bread to go with Sunday dinner. The only problem I had, which was probably my fault was the loaf was a little flat. I let it rise until I was ready to bake (3 hrs.), not the stated one hour. It seemed to rise to the side instead of up, which created a thinner loaf. Will try again! Flavor and texture was good though!