Italian Bread

diner524's Note:

I found this recipe in Taste of Home Magazine, recipe by Elsie Palmer. I just received my first KitchenAid Mixer for Christmas and couldn't wait to try it on making bread dough and decided to try this recipe, although I only made half, one loaf. Times don't include rising and cooling times.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 2.0 loaves

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 2 cups warm water (110 to 115 )
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Reviews

[Pink_Diamond]

Poured all the ingredients in my kitchenaid mixer bowl and let go for 5 minutes with the dough hook @ speed 2, then followed remaining instructions and cooked as directed and this turned out perfectly. Thanks for sharing ;)

[Kippy2]

I had fantastic results using this recipe. Bread turned out beautifully. This was my first attempt at making "from scratch" bread without using the ABM. Used my kitchen aid to mix the dough and followed the steps for the rest of the process. Thank you so much for posting . Can't wait to make this again.

[Lmscraps]

Wow, this bread is so good! I mixed mine at a higher speed than most reviewers....2 seemed too slow, so I cranked it up to 4. After the dough came out of the KitchenAid, I followed the recipe as written. Baked 2 loaves on a stone for about 27 minutes. This was so easy to make, I don't think I need to buy bread anymore!