Basil & Red Capsicum Pugliese

A delicious-sounding recipe for bread from “The Basic Italian Cookbook” by Lesley Pagett, which I found on Australian chef Huey's website. I have not made this yet, but look forward to doing so. I would be inclined to add some garlic and some halved black olives. The cooking time below does not include the 21/2 hours resting time.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Yields: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 kg unbleached flour
• 1  tablespoon dried yeast
• 1  tablespoon salt
• 1  teaspoon sugar
• 1  bunch basil leaves, chopped
• 150  g red capsicums, roasted, finely chopped
• 3 2⁄3 cups water, lukewarm
• 2⁄3 cup olive oil
•  plastic wrap

Directions

1. Mix together the 1.5 kg flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
2. Add the basil, roasted capsicum, lukewarm water and oil. Mix well and then knead to form a softish dough, adding a little more water if needed.
3. Then knead the dough on a lightly floured workbench. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for about 2½ hours or until it has doubled in size.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured workbench and divide it in half. Form the into loaves and place them on a lightly oiled oven tray. Brush them with water and set them aside for about another hour, or until they have increased in size by about 50%.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
6. Then brush the loaves with water, sprinkle with a little flour and cook in the oven for about 45 mins (until they sound hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf).