Rustic Italian Bread Recipe

Italian bread is the greatest. Known for its thick, chewy golden crust, and soft and tender center, it’s all-versatile in nature. It tastes great with any type of pasta, and with addition of some cheese and sauce, you can turn it into delightful pizza bread. Serve it at lunch or dinner or slice it thin to make yummy little French toast for breakfast. While Italy boasts of some 350 types of bread, today we point you a recipe of classic rustic Italian bread.

 Rustic Italian Bread Recipe

Rustic Italian bread recipe

Image via: Red Star Yeast

Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Yields: 1 large loaf

Ingredients

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons white sugar

Pinch of salt

1-½ teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 slightly beaten egg white

Rustic Italian Bread

Image via: Flickr via Fake Ginger

Procedure

1. Place flour, water, sugar, yeast, and olive oil in the pan of your bread machine. Set on dough settings and press start. (Carefully read and follow your machine instructions)

2. Note: Keep a check on the dough when mixing. It should be soft and sticky to touch in the shape of a ball. If required add more flour or water whichever is needed.

3. Remove when signal beeps.

4. On a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal, deflate the dough and form into an oval or long loaf.

5. Cover the loaf with damp cloth and let it rise for 25-30 minutes or until doubled.

6. With a sharp knife cut the center of the loaf.

7. Brush all over with the egg white.

8. Bake in a preheated oven (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

While this is how you make regular rustic Italian bread, don’t fear to experiment to make it completely yours. Use whatever spices you have on hand or simply add some grated cheese during the final steps of the recipe.

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