Nannie Ruby's Dago Bread

Submitted by OmaJane

"My mother-in-law showed me how to make this bread before her son and I were married. She learned it from her mother-in-law who was an immigrant from Sicily. Our family tradition is to have this bread on Christmas Eve. We take a slice of bread and put olive oil, salt and pepper on it and eat it. We also cook homemade Italian sausage and wrap it in a slice of Nannie's bread."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Yields: 4 loaves

ingredients

• 8 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1⁄2 tablespoons honey
• 4 cups warm water
• 1.5 (1/4 ounce) packages fast rising yeast
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

directions

1. Mix flour, yeast and salt.
2. Dissolve honey in one cup warm water.
3. Add two cups warm water and olive oil to honey mixture.
4. Add liquid to dry ingredients and mix by hand or KitchenAid mixer using dough hook.
5. Knead dough about 5 minutes. Place in bowl with a little olive oil in the bottom. Turn dough to coat with oil. Place in warm, draft free area to rise(about 50 min).
6. Take dough out of bowl and knead a second time about 2 min on a floured surface. Place back in bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Let rise a second time(about 30 min).
7. Knead third time - gently about 2 minute
8. Divide dough into four parts. Smear butter on work surface. Knead each dough ball with fingertips on buttered surface. Each ball of dough should be rolled up like a jellyroll. I add butter to the work surface as needed.
9. Place dough into greased pans. We use PAM to grease the pans.
10. Let dough rise again about 30 minutes. I always cover the loaves with a dish cloth while they rise.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minute Lower to 300 degrees and bake 10 minute longer.
12. Brush tops of loaves with slightly beaten egg whites.

Reviews

[Ma Field]

A good solid Italian bread. It makes a bunch at one time, and I would recommend freesing the dough in loaves at step 9 for OAMC, then thaw and continue as written. Pre-baked frozezn is okay, but all bread loses something in the freezer so I would say freeze the baked bread as a last resort. My usual recipe doesn't use honey and this seemed to add a slightly different sweetness to the bread than my usual sugar. Could it be because I used wilflower honey? In any case it was tasty!

 

[TLu1089]

We enjoyed this bread a lot. I had originally planned to cut the recipe in half. I am so glad I didn't because I shared the other loaves with friends. They loved it too. Reviewed for PAC Spring 2008