Homemade Italian Bread

There is nothing better than Homemade Italian Bread. While it may seem difficult to make your own bread, it is something that anyone can do! Baking this bread requires just a few ingredients, and you will soon realize how easy and fulfilling it is to make.

Prep Time2 15

Cook Time45

Total Time3

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bread, comforting, crust, homemade, simple, tasty, toast

Servings:

Calories: 1557kcal

Cost: $5

Equipment

Kitchen Aid Mixer or Large Mixing Bowl
Paddle Attachment or Spatula
Measuring Cups & Spoons
Plastic Wrap
Dish Towel
Bread Lame or Sharp Knife or
Parchment Paper
Pizza Stone
Disposable Aluminum Pan
Wire Cooling Rack

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour will use more to sprinkle on counter before shaping dough
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast Used Fleischmann's
1 1/2 cups Warm Water
Semolina Flour can use this on pizza stone

Instructions

Add Flour, Sea Salt and Yeast to bowl or mixer (Flour first, then the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl/mixer)
Mix with spatula or paddle attachment until ingredients are thoroughly combined
Add Warm Water slowly and mix until ingredients are fully incorporated
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a dish towel
Let prove (or rise) for 2-3 hours until the dough doubles in size
Once proved, delicately remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface (You can flour your hands but do not put flour directly onto the dough)
Shape dough, folding it onto itself until you've formed a round ball (No kneading required)
Lightly carve an "X" into the top of the dough using the sharp knife or bread lame
Preheat oven to 450F - make sure you preheat the oven with the stone inside (Dough can rest on lightly floured parchment paper while oven heats up)
Fill Aluminum Pan with 1/2 inch of water and place on the lower oven rack (this allows your bread to get the hard crust)
Once oven reaches 450F, put dough & parchment paper onto pizza stone (or sprinkle pizza stone with semolina flour and move dough from parchment paper to the pizza stone)
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bread is golden brown and cooked fully
Put cooked bread onto a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before cutting into it

Notes

Important Notes

If transferring parchment paper to pizza stone, be sure you read the label to ensure it can handle the 450F temperature
If you are unsure whether or not the bread is fully baked, knock on the bottom of the bread. It should sound hollow

Nutrition