Italian Bread Ii Single Rising Food

MOM'S ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into a loaf. Place each loaf seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. With a sharp knife, make 4 shallow slashes across top of each loaf. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl thoroughly mix 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and undissolved yeast.
• Add butter.
• Gradually add warm water to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes with mixer at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Add 3/4 cup flour.
• Beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (about 8-10 minutes).
• Cover dough with plastic wrap and then a towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
• To make loaves: Divide dough in half.
• Roll each half into a 15x10 inch rectangle.
• Starting at wide side, roll up tightly; pinch seam to seal.
• Taper ends by rolling gently back and forth.
• To make rolls: Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
• Roll each piece into a rectangle 8x5 inches.
• Starting with wide side, roll up tightly; pinch seam to seal.
• Taper ends.
• Place the shaped dough seam side down on greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Brush dough with oil.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-24 hours.
• When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and uncover carefully.
• Let dough stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Make 3 or 4 diagonal slits in dough with a sharp knife or razor blade.
• Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes for rolls, 20 minutes for loaves.
• Remove from oven and brush with egg white beaten with cold water.
• Return to oven; bake 5-10 minutes longer, or until golden.
• **Note: I sometimes add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (adjust amounts to your preferences) of dried oregano OR basil OR rosemary to the dry ingredients.
• Sometimes I also add 1 bulb (head) of roasted garlic cloves to the dry ingredients.
• To roast garlic: Peel as much of the outer skin away as possible, leaving the cloves unpeeled and the head intact (optional: trim the tips of the cloves off to expose the"meat" to the oil).
• Place head (s) in covered casserole or on a piece of heavy aluminum foil.
• Drizzle with olive oil, and bake covered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes (mine takes over an hour in a terra-cotta garlic baker), or until cloves are soft and can be squeezed easily out of their skins.
• Let roasted garlic cool before adding to the flour for the bread.

BASIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Place the water and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. Using a dough hook attachment, add the flour and sugar to the water and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Drizzle the oil and salt into the dough and beat on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a smooth, firm, elastic dough is formed.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and spray the dough with a thin coating of cooking spray. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof in a warm, draft-free place for 11/2 hours or until doubled in size. Remove the plastic wrap, punch down and flatten the rounded dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the dough up tightly, sealing the seam well after each roll. The dough should be elongated and oval-shaped, with tapered and rounded (not pointed) ends.
• Preheat the oven lined with a pizza stone to 425 degrees F. Alternately, an inverted baking sheet may be used in place of a pizza stone.
• Place the dough on a baker's peel heavily dusted with semolina flour, or cornmeal, or alternately on an inverted baking sheet. Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a damp towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, score 3 (1/4-inch deep) slashes across the top of the dough at a 45 degree angle.
• Spray the dough generously with water from a water bottle and place in the oven on the baking stone. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Close the oven door and bake for an additional 3 minutes before spraying the dough for a third time (the spraying of the dough will ensure a crisp golden brown crust). Bake the dough for 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when the bread is whacked with the bowl of a wooden spoon. Allow the bread to cool slightly before serving.

SIMPLE WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• In a measuring cup, combine the sugar and yeast to 1 cup of lukewarm water, stirring until combined. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and salt.
• Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl and combine all the ingredients.
• Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flour onto your work surface and knead the dough for a few minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
• Store the dough in a sealable plastic bag that has been drizzled in olive oil, making sure the dough is completely covered in the oil. Keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight.
• WHEN YOU ARE READY* to bake the bread, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Leave the dough in the plastic zipped bag,and let it come to room temperature (about an hour). *This can sit in your fridge for SEVERAL days!!
• Prepare a loaf pan with nonstick spray.
• Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flour on your work surface, take the dough out of the bag, and knead and fold the dough for about 1 minute.
• Form a log with the dough that will fit in your prepared loaf pan. Cover the pan with the plastic bag and let it rise until is has at least doubled in size (about 2 hours).
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• After the dough has risen, remove the plastic covering and slash the top of the dough with a sharp knife.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350°F, or until the internal temperature is 190-210°F. Let it cool completely before slicing.

RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Note: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• There are 2 techniques that I will call out below that deal with where you add the sugar. There is one way where you add the sugar to the yeast and another where you add the sugar to the flour. I have used both ways and they both work for me.

ITALIAN BREAD II ( SINGLE RISING)

Steps:

• Combine yeast, sugar and 1 c.
• warm water in a large bowl.
• Stir until dissolved.
• Set aside in a warm place for 1/2 hr.
• When mixture starts to bubble slightly, add butter, salt and remaining 3/4 warm water.
• Add flour 1 c at a time, beating vigorously w/ a wooden spoon.
• Continue until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Turn out unto a generously floured board.
• (Dough will be sticky) Gently fold in remaining flour, kneading until the dough begins to become smooth and elastic.
• Knead for 10 minutes.
• Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Divide dough in two and roll each into a rectangle 12 x 8 inches.
• Roll up tightly lengthwise, pinching seams.
• Butter two baking sheet and sprinkle w/ cornmeal.
• Place loaves on sheets and let rise in a warm draft-free place until double (1-1 1/2 hrs) Preheat oven to 425F.
• Brush loaves w/ beaten egg while.
• Bake 40 minutes.

RAISIN BREAD

Steps:

• Grease an 8x4-in. loaf pan; sprinkle with cornmeal and set aside. , In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add orange juice; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add remaining flour. Stir in raisins (batter will be stiff and sticky). Do not knead., Spoon into prepared pan; sprinkle with additional cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and toast.

ITALIAN BREAD II

Steps:

• Add all ingredients except egg, 1 tablespoon water, sesame seeds, and cornmeal into your bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the dough cycle.
• Divide dough into 2 parts and form into loaves. Sprinkle cornmeal on greased baking sheet. Place loaves on pan seam side down. Brush top of loaves with water. Let rise til double, about 50 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Brush loaves with egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Make 4 cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of log. Place a pan of hot water in bottom of oven. Bake bread for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. To make a nice crusty bread, bake bread in the afternoon and pop into oven again for 5 minutes before meal. Makes a very crusty bread! You would be surprised how much better it is if you heat it that last 5 minutes. Try it. I learned this in a bread machine class!