The Very Best Italian Bread!

Submitted by Dine Dish

"My friend Leslie passed this recipe on to me. It makes 2 loaves, which is always wonderful because you can share a fresh baked loaf of wonderful bread with a friend. Easy to make using both your bread machine and your oven."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 2 loaves

ingredients

• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 1⁄3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

directions

1. Place flour, brown sugar, warm water, salt, olive oil and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Select dough cycle; press Start.
3. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
4. Form dough into two loaves.
5. Place the loaves seam side down on a cutting board generously sprinkled with cornmeal.
6. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise, until doubled in volume about 40 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
8. In a small bowl, beat together egg and 1 tablespoon water.
9. Brush the risen loaves with egg mixture.
10. Make a single long, quick cut down the center of the loaves with a sharp knife.
11. Gently shake the cutting board to make sure that the loaves are not sticking.
12. If they stick, use a spatula or pastry knife to loosen.
13. Slide the loaves onto a baking sheet with one quick but careful motion.
14. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Reviews

[Joes Chef]

This is the best Italian Bread. I will never buy another loaf in the store. Easy and delicious, thanks for posting.

 

[BluEyedCookette]

My oh my this is some great bread! I made it to have with some homemade soup for dinner. Great heated in the oven then slathered with butter!

 

[shalalala]

I made this last night and it came out AMAZINGLY! I don't have a bread maker so I made it by hand and used quick-rise yeast. I made one loaf of bread with sesame seeds on top (sprinkled on after the egg wash) and then I made breadsticks with the rest! The breadsticks were long and narrow; before cooking I brushed with the egg-wash and sprinkled with kosher salt. Immediately when they came out of the oven, I brushed them again but this time with melted butter - it tasted wonderful! I'll add the pictures.

 

[Diana Adcock]

Very Nice! I used my Kitchen-Aid rather than a bread machine, and slid the loaves onto a hot stone-2 beautiful loaves later-I'm a happy Camper! Lovely flavor, slightly chewy which will also make for great grilled bread! Thanks for Posting, Di ;-)

 

[Marie Nixon]

The bread had a really nice crispy crust on it due to the egg wash. I took the suggestion of several other chefs and put the loaves on a cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal that way I didn't have to move them to a cookie sheet later on in step 13 (skipping step 11 &12) and it worked out perfectly. Each loaf was slightly less than 1 pound.