Italian Bread
3 cups flour
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
cornmeal (optional)
1 beaten egg (optional, but recommended)
1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Mix the salt and sugar in by hand.
2. Move the ingredients to the side of the bowl creating an empty space or "well" in the middle of the bowl.
3. Pour the yeast into this well as well as 1-1 1/4 cups of water (I would do more than cup...you can always add more flour later if it's too sticky).
4. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of flour over the yeast and water and wait about 10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve and bubbles to appear.
5. Once the bubbles have appeared, start to mix the ingredients together (by hand is easiest). To mix it, slowly start incorporating the walls of the well into the yeast and water. The slower this is done, the easier it is to mix it all in. If needed, add more flour or water. Once all the flour is incorporated, you should have a nice firm ball of dough.
6. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until you get a nice, rather tough, but not sticky dough.
7. Place the dough in a bowl, cover the dough in olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place it in a warm place.
8. Let the dough rise for an hour. It should double in size during this time.
9. Once it has risen, punch the dough down once and form it into a loaf. Prepare a baking pan by lightly oiling it and sprinkling it with cornmeal (or flour if you don't have cornmeal). Put the loaf on this pan, cover it and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes-1 hour until it has doubled.
10. When it has risen again, spread the beaten egg over the top of the loaf and cut at least 3 slits in the top.
11. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until it has reached the desired golden brownness on top.
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
cornmeal (optional)
1 beaten egg (optional, but recommended)
1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Mix the salt and sugar in by hand.
2. Move the ingredients to the side of the bowl creating an empty space or "well" in the middle of the bowl.
3. Pour the yeast into this well as well as 1-1 1/4 cups of water (I would do more than cup...you can always add more flour later if it's too sticky).
4. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of flour over the yeast and water and wait about 10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve and bubbles to appear.
5. Once the bubbles have appeared, start to mix the ingredients together (by hand is easiest). To mix it, slowly start incorporating the walls of the well into the yeast and water. The slower this is done, the easier it is to mix it all in. If needed, add more flour or water. Once all the flour is incorporated, you should have a nice firm ball of dough.
6. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until you get a nice, rather tough, but not sticky dough.
7. Place the dough in a bowl, cover the dough in olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place it in a warm place.
8. Let the dough rise for an hour. It should double in size during this time.
9. Once it has risen, punch the dough down once and form it into a loaf. Prepare a baking pan by lightly oiling it and sprinkling it with cornmeal (or flour if you don't have cornmeal). Put the loaf on this pan, cover it and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes-1 hour until it has doubled.
10. When it has risen again, spread the beaten egg over the top of the loaf and cut at least 3 slits in the top.
11. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until it has reached the desired golden brownness on top.
