Fabulous Crusty Italian Loaf

Reviews

• "My husband is a connessouir of crusty Italian bread, having been raised in an Italian neighborhood with at least four Italian bakeries all vying for the title of "best bread" and even he said that this bread was "pretty good for homemade." I made it even easier by mixing and kneading in my Kitchen Aide stand mixer withthe dough hook (follow the directions that come with the mixer). dissolved the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees) and 1 tsp sugar to make sure it was good. The egg wash gave it a nice brown color, and the water in the oven helped make it very crusty. The loaves baked faster than the recommended time - 10 minutes at 425 and about 17 at 400."

  By keatinkp on March 04, 2011 | 1198171

• "this really was SO easy and fast, i couldn't believe it. i ate the majority of one of the loaves (with some olive oil) shortly after it came out of the oven. it was wonderfully crusty on the outside and so soft and tender on the inside. yum! this was my first time using my baking stone (i just bought it the other day ) and i am definitely pleased with the results. however, i'm thinking i might need to buy a thermometer for my oven, as the loaves baked in about 25 minutes total (10 min at 425 and another 15 min at 400)."

  By SmrJunior on April 06, 2006 | 262969

• "Really good bread. I wish it turned out a little crustier (I did the pan of water in the bottom of the oven thing) and I think it needed a little more salt, but overall really tasty!"

  By angela9298 on April 26, 2012 | 1303267

• "I didn't have a peel, so I used a completely flat cookie sheet with cornmeal and parchment paper. Slides on and off the bread stone perfectly. I cooked my loaves at 425 for roughly 25 minutes, and they're perfect!"

  By axanon on April 09, 2012 | 1300068

• "Very good bread. The crumb is tender and soft. The crust is nice and crispy. The dough is a dream to work with. The amount of flour was just perfect. I formed my dough into 4 smaller loaves as I am going to use them to make sandwiches. I baked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Note: the ones that I gave the egg wash the crust was chewy instead of crunchy."

  By YungB on February 05, 2012 | 1285104

• "This was great! I made this as a loaf and the bread makes great toast and sandwich bread."

  By broke student on February 22, 2011 | 1194247

• "VERY sticky dough, did the recipe just as follows except I used Splenda instead of shower. I used too much cornmeal so it seemed to burn in the oven which made it stink for a while. But all in all, the bread came out good. Not bad for a first timer!"

  By kimboleyanne on February 28, 2010 | 1061214

• "I doubled the recipe to give a loaf to my DD to bring home. Grandkids dug into my stash and ate half of it! Now usually I don't mind, but when it comes to my bread I'm known to nibble on fingers if they sneak a piece :) It's especially good right after it comes out of the oven, but don't eat too much at once or you'll be sorry! Thanks Cinizini!"

  By Chef #738763 on September 11, 2009 | 944766

• "10 stars if I could. I have made this bread so many times since I found it about 4 months ago and just kept forgetting to review it. It has become our absolute favorite white bread. Definite keeper"

  By wicked cook 46 on July 09, 2009 | 903665

• "I made this bread to use for bruschetta. The recipe is well written and the bread turned out beautifully - tasty and crusty!! I love the egg wash, it gave the loaves a lovely golden colour! Thank you for posting the recipe! Cheers."

  By Fairy Nuff on July 24, 2008 | 677280

• "it was soft inside and nice and crusty outside, the most easiest and tasty bread to make."

  By Chef #495970 on May 09, 2007 | 412490

• "excellent bread - baked these today around 3pm and made half of a loaf into garlic bread for dinner tonight - best I've ever had! I used just over 2 t. instant yeast (so didn't dissolve the yeast first) and just under 2 t. salt based on reviews - worked perfectly. baking time was shorter (10 minutes plus 20 at 400) for two loaves. I think this bread will go well with butter/jam or with savory/salty things, which is great. Thank you!"

  By wax lion on January 17, 2007 | 360754

• "This was my first time making bread and it was truly FABULOUS. My family....devoured both loaves for dinner. It was very easy and delicious. This will be the only bread recipe I will use!!!! Thanks Cinzini!"

  By Signora Caterina on November 20, 2006 | 337044

• "Made this from start to finish in the bread machine. Turned out great. I like to start with warm/hot water add the yeast, sugar and let it foam. Then add the oil and pour into the bread machine followed by all other dry ingredients. Used the french bread 2lb setting. Thanks for more easy bread!"

  By Jockey on November 16, 2006 | 335545

• "This is without a doubt the greatest loaf of bread I've ever made. I wish I could give it 10 stars. Such a beautiful dough to work with. I made it true to the recipe, except I sprinkled a little bit of flour on the tops of the unbaked loaves. My dh is such a happy camper. Great recipe! Thanks so very much for posting!So many people will be so glad they tried this."

  By FLUFFSTER on November 12, 2006 | 334103

• "In my opinion, there are far, far too many recipes out there with "fabulous" or "amazing" or "outstanding" in their names. This recipe is one of the few that truly merits it. Great technique notes, great results, and it didn't take all day, either! Strong and crispy crust, even rising throughout with small and even holes, decently moist inside without being soggy. I'm going to use this one as my basic bread recipe from now on, and do a little experimentation with refrigerating as Wendy did, freezing, different washes, etc. A few observations and notes on where I deviated from the recipe: first, the amount of salt isn't listed. I used two teaspoons and it worked out fine. Second, I didn't start preheating my oven at the time I formed the loaves -- 40 minutes is much more than necessary; I started half an hour after I put the loaves to rise, and that worked out fine. I used a pizza stone which, oops, wasn't quite wide enough...okay, so the loaves have a bit of a bend in 'em. I couldn't find my pastry brush so I skipped the egg wash and just sprinkled the tops with cold water -- maybe another time I'll try a salt water mist like some books recommend. I baked for ten minutes at 425, after which it took only 20 more minutes for the loaves to be done -- maybe next time I'll try them at 400 all the way. Thanks for a great recipe!!!!"

  By Mary the Disturbed Stick Woman on October 25, 2005 | 215429

• "I loved this recipe. I made the dough in my bread machine. Baked one loaf on the same day and left the other covered in plastic wrap in fridge and baked the following day. Excellent recipe."

  By Wendys Kitchen on August 16, 2005 | 196301