Italian Bread Recipe

4.94 from 92 votes

Italian Bread Recipe

It is so easy to make our Italian bread recipe at home! This soft, crust bread is delicious and takes just 6 simple ingredients.

Prep Time40

Cook Time30

Rise1 30

Total Time2 40

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: loaves

Author: Lil' Luna

Ingredients

2 cups very warm water
5 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

Whisk water, yeast, sugar, oil, and 2 cups of flour in a large bowl till smooth. Let sit in a warm place till bubbly, about 30 minutes. Add the salt and add enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead a few times on a floured counter till smooth. Return to bowl. Cover and let rise till doubled, about an hour.
When it looks like it has doubled in size poke it with your finger. If the dough springs back and fills in the dent, let it rise longer. If the dent stays, it's ready.
Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a long loaf about 12 inches long. Place both loaves on a greased baking pan.
Cover and let loaves rise till doubled, 30-45 minutes. Cut a few diagonal slits across the top of each loaf.
Bake in an oven preheated to 375°F for about 30 minutes or till the crust is golden brown.

Video

Notes

Using active dry yeast. Activate first by adding the yeast and sugar to the warm water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until bubbly. At this point, you can add the yeast mixture to the other ingredients.

Rise dough faster. Placing the dough near a warm window, crock pot, or oven can help it rise faster.

Kneading tips. Knead by hand (fold and press the dough repeatedly) for a few minutes or a quicker way is to use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.

Freeze the dough. Shape the loaves of dough, but don't let them rise. Instead, freeze until solid then wrap with plastic and again with foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to bake, unwrap a loaf, place it on a baking sheet, and cover it loosely with a tea towel. Let the dough rise until double (several hours), add scoring slices, and bake.

Store baked bread. Allow to cool, wrap with plastic, and store at room temperature for 2-3 days, or wrap them again with foil and freeze them for 3 months.

Nutrition