Best Ever Italian Bread Recipes

MAMA D'S ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.
• Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino's behind. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. (I put it in the oven with the light on - perfect rising temperature.)
• Once doubled, punch down and divide into three. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.
• Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat "footballs." Grease heavy cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.
• Once risen, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Mist loaves with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

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.

CIABATTA BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium size bowl add water and dry yeast. Wait 10 minutes until the yeast is fully dissolved and has a "creamy' texture.
• Mix in the flour. You should get a very loose and sticky dough. It should have consistency thick enough not to come off from the spoon as, say, sour cream or greek yogurt, but wet enough so that it's impossible to knead it by hand.
• Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest at a room temperature for 3-4 hrs or overnight. I just don't recommend leaving biga for more than 24 hrs as the yeast will start to over-mature and loose its power.
• Once biga is rested it will become bubbly and might become even looser when you left it. Now pour lukewarm water in the bowl, going around the edges of the bowl and pouring small portions at a time. This is how we hydrate and aerate biga even more at the same time liberating it from the bowl.
• Pour biga and wate mix into a bowl of a standing mixer, oil the dough hook.Turn on your mixer on low speed, knead for a 1-2 minutes and start adding flour.
• In the last portion of flour (approx 1cup) add salt and mix it into the flour. Add to the dough.Knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. You'll notice the dough starting changing its texture. Becoming more smooth and starting to climb up the hook. Increase mixer speed to high and knead for another 10 minutes. If you mixer bowl is large enough you'll see the dough coming off the bowl sides. That's a perfect sign the dough is ready and has developed strong gluten.You would be able to tell just from the look that it's very silky and shiny.
• Transfer the dough to a big oiled bowl, so that there is enough space for the bread to double or triple.Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at a room temperature for about 40-50 minutes.
• After the first 40-50 minutes the dough will double in size. Deep a silicon spatula in a water and start folding the dough onto itself, from the outside to the center of the bowl. You should be able to make 6-10 folds.
• Do it gently, so that the dough becomes well aerated and not deflated.Now using both hands, rise the dough from the bowl letting it fold, turn the bowl 90 degrees and fold in the same manner again. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 40-50 minutes.
• Repeat this last folding process once again and let the dough rest for the last 40-50 minutes.
• Once it's perfectly bubbly and screams to get out of the bowl, GENEROUSLY sprinkle the working surface with the flour. You'll regret if you wouldn't. The dough is veery sticky, but that's the secret for gorgeous light and airy ciabatta bread.
• Flip the bowl upside down and let the dough "slide" off of the bowl by itself.
• Sprinkle your scrapers and top of the dough with flour again. Constantly assisting with the scrapers give it a rectangular shape. Cut into elongated loaves or individual rolls. You can make the rolls either square or triangle and they are HEAVEN for panini.
• Generously sprinkle linen cloth with flour and using large dough scrapers transfer the bread loaves onto it. Separate each loaf with a towel fold (see the pictures) or use individual towel for each of the loaves.
• Turn on the oven to 450F while ciabatta bread rests on the towel.
• After 10-15 minutes flip ciabatta loaves over on parchment paper sprinkled with semolina or corn flour (to prevent bread from sticking).
• Just before you put the bread into the oven, spray the oven generously with cold water to create as much steam as you can. Steam really helps ciabatta bread to cook perfectly both on the inside and outside.
• Bake ciabatta for 20-25 minutes without EVER opening the oven. After 10 minutes in the oven reduce the heat to 400F. When it's golden brown, or may seem even slightly burned that is it. Your ciabatta bread has just reached its perfection and all you have left is let it cool for 15-20 on the wire rack.

THE VERY BEST ITALIAN BREAD!

Steps:

• 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.
• Select dough cycle; press Start.
• Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Form dough into two loaves.
• Place the loaves seam side down on a cutting board generously sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise, until doubled in volume about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a small bowl, beat together egg and 1 tablespoon water.
• Brush the risen loaves with egg mixture.
• Make a single long, quick cut down the center of the loaves with a sharp knife.
• Gently shake the cutting board to make sure that the loaves are not sticking.
• If they stick, use a spatula or pastry knife to loosen.
• Slide the loaves onto a baking sheet with one quick but careful motion.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

BEST EVER ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Stir the yeast into lukewarm water and set aside.
• Combine 5 cups flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the yeast mixture, remaining water and olive oil. Using a dough hook attachment, mix on lowest speed of electric mixer (stir setting on a KitchenAid) until a dough starts to form, adding more flour as needed. Knead on low speed (2 on a KitchenAid) for 7 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and need by hand for 1 to 2 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 place for 1½ hours or until doubled in size. I usually put mine in a SLIGHTLY warmed oven.
• 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.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F and place an empty baking pan on bottom rack. This will be used later to create steam.
• Place the dough on a inverted baking sheet that has been dusted with flour. Cover with a towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Brush the dough with the egg white, and then slash the dough lengthwise about 1/4-inch deep in three spots.
• Place the pan of dough on the top rack, and pour a large cup of water into the warmed baking pan on the bottom rack.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when tapping the bottom of the bread. Allow the bread to cool before slicing.

BEST EVER CHALLAH BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer* add water and honey. Sprinkle yeast over top and swirl with spoon or fingers to combine. Allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes while the yeast bloom and become aromatic.
• Add 8 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, salt and 6 cups flour. Mix on low, using dough hook, until smooth. Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time until soft dough ball forms (I use the entire 9 cups). Turn to medium and knead for 5 minutes. Your ball of dough should be tacky (not sticky). If it is sticky, add a little more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it becomes tacky (does not leave dough on your fingers when you touch it).
• Turn onto a floured counter top; knead about 10 turns. Wash out bowl and place 1 tablespoon melted butter inside. Place dough into bowl, turning once to grease top. Loosely cover with plastic wrap (that has been sprayed with non-stick spray) and a cloth over top and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Prepare egg wash. Set aside. Grease 2 cookie sheets with ½ tablespoon butter each.
• Punch dough down and divide in four. Form into a ball and set aside. Working with one dough ball at a time; roll dough ball into a log and cut into thirds. *Then, cut each third in half if doing a 6 braid.
• Braid into 4 loaves and place on greased cookie sheets. See this fabulous video tutorial for an easy 6 braid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22p3wIHLupc
• Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with seeds if desired.
• Cover and let rise until doubled, about 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° and place baking racks in the top and bottom 1/3 of oven center of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
• If bread starts to brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. When bread is removed from the oven, brush with remaining butter. Serve and enjoy!

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, salt, yeast, and warm water.
• Stir in the softened butter or margarine, whichever using.
• Sift in one cup of flour at a time until you have a dough that can be easily kneaded by hand without sticking to your hands.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is soft and not sticky.
• Lightly grease a medium-sized bowl with olive oil and flip dough over so that the top is also greased.
• Cover with a clean kitchen towel or wrap paper and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.
• Grease a large baking sheet and sprinkle it with coarse cornmeal, if desired.
• Remove the dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured table, and divide into two equal parts.
• Roll each dough half into an approximately 15 x 9-inch rectangle.
• Roll the dough tightly along the 15-inch side, pinch the seams, and taper the ends of each loaf with your hands at a 45-degree angle.
• Place the loaves on the prepared baking sheet and cover. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 F. Make 3 deep diagonal slashes on each loaf.
• Bake the bread for 20 minutes.
• Lightly beat the egg white and cold water in a small bowl to create an egg wash . This step is key for a traditional Italian bread.
• Remove the loaves from the oven and brush with the egg wash.
• Return the loaves to the oven for another 5 minutes.
• Serve bread warm or cold and enjoy.

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.