Italian Peasant Bread Recipes

RUSTIC ITALIAN CRUSTY BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl or your kitchen aid mixer add the flour, salt and yeast. Use a spatula or the paddle attachment and mix to combine well.
• Pour in the warm water and keep mixing until everything is incorporated and a soft dough has formed. It will still stick to the bottom of the bowl and that is OK.
• Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap loosely and a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours until doubled in size.
• Sprinkle some flour on your kitchen counter and dump the bread dough on it. Flour your hands to help it out of the bowl as it will be sticky. Don't panic, this is normal.
• With floured hands fold the dough onto itself forming it into a round ball. Do not knead it, do not handle it anymore than you need to. Use a sharp knife and lightly carve an X in the top of the loaf or just make a few cuts across.
• Place the bread dough on top of a lightly floured pizza peel, cardboard or parchment paper and allow it to rest while your oven is heating up.
• Preheat your oven to 450"F with a pizza stone inside for about 45 minutes before baking the bread. Fill an oven proof bowl with 2 inches of water and place it on the bottom rack. This will create the steam that will cause the crust to become crispy as it bakes.
• Once your oven is hot sprinkle the pizza stone with some semolina flour or corn meal and carefully slide the bread loaf on top. Bake the bread for about 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown all over and cooked through.
• Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool off completely before slicing into it. You can also let it cool inside the oven with the door slightly open.

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.

PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add the yeast mixture and remaining water; stir until combined. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Stir dough down. Divide in half. Place each half in a greased 1-qt. round casserole or ovenproof bowl. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove from pans; serve warm if desired.

PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Light or Medium Crust cycle; press Start. For a crispier crust, use the French cycle or turn machine off after first rise and start the cycle over.

ITALIAN PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Ingredients 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 2 cups water (lukewarm, 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit) 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2. Directions 1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Blend in rest of ingredients except butter. 2. Shape into one large round loaf. Place on a greased cooking sheet and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Brush with melted butter. 3. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 25 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

ITALIAN YEAST PEASANT BREAD RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Put the 2 packages of yeast in a room temperature large mixing bowl. Add ½ cup of the warm water (about 110-120 degrees) and whisk dissolving the yeast. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Add the remaining water to the yeast and gently whisk together. Sift 4 cups of sifted flour and salt into a second mixing bowl. Pour half of the flour into the wet mixture and blend well. Add the remaining flour and blend well. Put the remaining flour on a clean surface. Dump out the dough and knead for about 5 minutes. (Note: leave the flour on this surface because you will knead a second time) Coat a clean large bowl with cooking spray. Form the dough into a large ball, put in the bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and place in a draft free area and let the dough rise until about double in size (an hour or more). (Note: I put mine in a cold oven. Turn on the light and let it rise. ) After the dough has raised, dump onto the flour surface and knead another 5-7 minutes. Shape into desired bread loaves, make slits (about ½" deep) on top with a sharp knife, cover and let it raise again for about 30 minutes. Brush the tops/sides of the bread with an egg white (optional) for a shiny finish. Bake in a pre-heated 400 oven about 45-55minutes. (Note: Cover the top with foil if it's getting too brown.)

ITALIAN PEASANT BREAD FOR BREAD MACHINE

Steps:

• Place ingredients, according to manufacturer's directions into your bread machine.
• (some call for all liquids, or all dry ingredients first, so know your machine) Set machine to "dough cycle" and wait. (This takes most machines about an hour and a half for a full cycle).
• Remove from machine when cycle is complete and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Shape dough by hand, into a rectangular mound, spreading kind of thin, maybe an inch or two of thickness.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size. (This is a good time to go ahead and turn the oven on to preheat and help warm the kitchen).
• Brush with a little olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and salt if desired. (This is the way its done at Macaroni Grill).
• Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden and crispy. Bread is meant to be a flatter shape and not a high rising bread.
• Have everyone tear their pieces of bread with their hands,and serve with olive oil flavored with fresh ground pepper.

ITALIAN PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Blend in rest of ingredients except butter.
• Shape into one large round loaf. Place on a greased cooking sheet and let rise until doubled. Brush with melted butter.
• Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 25 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.