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I have commented before that I would love to make more bread. Â It is not hard, you just need enough time to let the dough rise. Â This recipe that I saw from Michele’s Woman Cave did not need a lot of rising time. Â Her recipe used a kneading of her bread machine. Â I mixed mine in a mixer with a dough hook. Â This takes a little more effort but I believe gives the bread better texture. Â It also extended the rise time because I needed to let the dough rise three different times and I kneaded it each time to continue to activate the yeast.
Now, I had planned to make this bread on Saturday, so I would be able to use it on Sunday with sandwiches for the boys. Â Only problem with fresh bread is it tastes so good and there is nothing like warm bread. Â You got it. Â We ate more than 2/3 of it – we said we were only going to taste it. Â Oh well. Â I guess that is an worthwhile outcome.
Recipe
Italian Bread (adapted from Michele’s Woman Cave):
- Place in your mixing bowl 3 cups of bread flour, 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, 1 1/4 cups warm water, 2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar and 2 tbsp olive oil and mix on low speed until dough becomes tacky and is pulled away from the sides
- Cover with a damp towel and place in a dark spot in your kitchen enabling it to rise
- After an hour, knead the dough for 5 – 10 minutes using a dusting of the bread flour as you go
- Repeat this process 2 more times, letting the bread rise for 30 minutes each time
- Beat in a small mixing bowl 1 egg and 1 tbsp water; slit the top of the bread with a serrated knife and then brush the egg wash generously on the top of the bread
- Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
I intended to make cheesy pull apart garlic bread. I needed a good loaf of bread to start with, well let’s just say we never added the cheese or garlic. We ate it as is. My kids loved it!
I am so glad it turned out so well for you. Thx for sharing and I am so glad the kids liked it!
would this be a good recipie for bread bowls? If so, could you tell me what would be the temperature change and time needed in the oven?
Good question. I think it could be. The crust is not quite as thick as a traditional bread bowl. So the two things I would do is to add 25 degrees to the oven temperature and add a steam bath to the cooking. Place a tray in the bottom of the oven, below the bread filled with water. Let me know if this works.
I want to make the beautiful bread round, but I’m confused on step #4. Could you please clarify for me. Can’t wait to make it. Thank you for your post and recipe.
Ree, I looked back at the recipe and Step 4. I changed the word to read each time. Knead the bread or punch down and then let it rise again. Hope this helps.
Thank you Chef. I feel better now to try it out. Have a great evening!
I made this tonight for dinner with friends & it was delicious! I added a few spices & rubbed the outside with salt & pepper for added flavor, but it was so easy to make! My only question is that the dough was a lot thicker & almost more rubbery than what I was used to for other bread so I ended up cooking it another 10-15 minutes to ensure it wasn’t doughy inside. Is it supposed to be that way or could that be because I’m at a high altitude?
Veronica, I would guess it is the altitude. I have heard that before. What spices did you add?
It looks beautiful!
Yum:) Peter, this seems a good bread recipe. I will give it a try:)))