a fast, simple bread that goes well with pastas and other Italian dishes. For French bread, try shaping the dough into a long loaf or a round ball.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 15 |
| Yield: | 1 loaf |
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the warm water (110 degrees), yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Stir in 2 cups of the flour in order to make a soft ball. Knead in additional flour so that dough is soft and not sticky. Place kneaded dough in a medium size greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
- Punch down dough, and form into ball or loaf shape. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.
Reviews
Absolutely wonderful taste and simple and easy to make
It was simple, had to add a little water, then a little more flour. It’s just me and hubby, so size was perfect.
This bread turn out absolutely perfect! It was so easy and quick. I am going to be a staple in my kitchen from now on!
This is a very easy recipe. I proof for 1 hour the 1st time and 1 hour the 2nd time. I covered the bread while baking for 10 to 15 min, then uncover for 15 to 20 min. I covered it for a crusty crust.
Ingredient proportions are completely off. Very dry.
The beard came out fine but it didn’t puff up in the oven.
Doesn’t make a very big loaf. I’d double the recipe. And the dough can be a bit dry. Might add more olive oil next time.
Followed the directions perfectly and the dough never rose.
Absolutely delicious bread! Simple recipe. My very Italian husband (he’s from Italy ) loves it too so I’ll be making it a lot for him.
Needed more water than listed in the recipe (1 cup). Otherwise followed pretty close. Made a round loaf and it turned out great!
I made this recipe I put water at the bottom of the oven, and added 3 tsp yeast instead of the amount in the recipe. It tasted nice and it came out great.
Great bread! I threw in 1/4 cup green olives 3/4 cup black olives and it is a great recipe. I made some oil bread dipping sauce to go with it. Delicious!
This recipe is completely screwed up. It’s dry as dirt.
I added all of my ingredients like it says to, and it was too dry even with just 2 cups of flour. Will update when it’s done rising and baked as to how I changed the recipe if it ends up working. Very small quantity this recipe makes, so it’s definitely a test loaf.
I added two tablespoons of bran to this recipe and reduced the flour to two cups. However the next time I make it I will use more water so that the dough will be smoother. The dough was hard before it was left to rise. It eventually puffed up and became soft. They left out to knead it for at least eight minutes. Also I added the yeast, oil and water together but put the salt in the flour. I’ll give it try one more time with the tweaks.
Great recipe!! I made this in my stand mixer and did have to add 4-5 extra tbs of water and I subbed honey for the sugar. I didn’t proof the yeast but I use it often so I knew that it was fresh. I do believe that the amount of time from start to finish is off but the end result is so worth it. Thanks!!
After reading all the reviews commenting on it being dry, I started out with 1 cup of water. I added the yeast and sugar and let it proof before adding the salt, oil and 2 cups of flour. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the bread hook . It was a little sticky so I gradually added about another 1/4 cup of the flour. I brushed it with an egg white wash and sprinkled it with a lot of sesame seeds . I put a pan with ice cubes on an oven shelf below the bread while it was baking. the bread turned out moist and with a great crust.
i live at a very low altitude that i had to add a little extra water and olive oil but it was a great hit everyone said that they wished i made more than the 2 i made
I doubled the recipe, used 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat Flour. Turned out great, but too small of a loaf. I will make just one loaf with the doubled recipe next time.
I followed other suggestions and got a great loaf for butter and honey as a spread. I started with 2 cups of flour, added a bit more until it was slightly sticky. I let it rise for almost 2 hours for the first rise and a whole hour for the second. Also, I kneaded just until it was thoroughly mixed. This bread seemed dense when pulled out of the oven but it cut light and fluffy with a crisp crust. I would suggest reducing salt to 1/2 tsp. unless you want to top with jam or honey. The saltiness really mellowed out the sweetness of the honey and it was great but for eating with oil/butter or using for a sandwich it seems a bit salty.
Totally agree with Tamarala and Amary — a fine recipe for real Italian style bread…but needs a little more water and a little less flour than called for. Bread-makers probably remember that different conditions make for different instructions in bread-making.