Easy Italian Bread

Submitted by Chef Glaucia

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

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 10mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Yields: 12 slices
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 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!!

 

[ernie]

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!

 

[Dreamer in Ontario]

I don't have a bread machine so I made this by first combining the yeast, water and sugar. I then combined the dry ingredients, added the yeast mixture and kneaded the bread until smooth and elastic. After that I followed the recipes directions. Before baking I brushed the loaf with an egg/water mixture that was left over from another recipe. The resulting loaf was a lovely golden brown colour and delicious.

 

[Hazeleyes]

Really delicious loaf! I sprinkled sesame and poppy seeds on top before I put in the oven. Great with soup! Thanks!