The demand for this bread at home is simply too great for me to handle! Like the old lemonade stands, the kids want to set up a soup and bread stand. Despite being baked in the oven, this dough is mixed in a bread machine.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 15 |
| Yield: | 1 to 2 – pound loaf |
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups high-gluten bread flour
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Instructions
- Place warm water, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
- Most machines have a ‘beep’ toward the end of their cycle that allows you to add additional ingredients. Sprinkle in oregano and basil at this time.
- When machine’s Dough cycle has ended, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into an oval or round loaf. Place loaf on a baking sheet that has been well greased with olive oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons water with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut three slits on top of bread. Brush entire loaf with salt water mixture and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped. This bread will be hard when it comes out of the oven. Let sit 10 minutes to soften before cutting.
Reviews
This is really your basic Italian bread -use it with all your meals – not just “Italian” – makes the best toast for breakfast – I grew up with this. I use my bread machine – if I use seasonings (which are great), I add them with the rest of the ingredients as others have said. I substitute honey for sugar and use bread flour – sometimes I use 1 cup white whole wheat flour and add 1 T gluten – I bake at 375 F for 50 minutes – bread comes out crusty on the outside and soft inside. Lately I have been using 2 teaspoons yeast – works out just fine.
Very good side for any Italian meal!
This is a quick easy recipe that tastes fantastic! I used this to make toasted garlic bread, and the kids were mad at me for wrecking the bread! This recipe will definitely become a staple in my house!
We LOVED this one. Would like the crust to be a bit crunchier… and saltier, to make it more like Macaroni Grill, but still loved it.
This is good. Not sure why recipe says to add seasonings at fruit nut beep though. I just dumped it all in at the beginning and it was fine. I made the loaf into an italian style loaf by rolling out the dough then rolling it back up like you do with baguettes, except made one long loaf out of it. Had some with olive tapenade and it was great, but also good plain. Thanks!
Not all that great. The flavor was just ok, I added garlic to give it a bit more too. I used regular flour rather than bread flour based on other reviews. The reason I’m giving this a 3 star is because the recipe severly underestimates the time it takes to make this bread. I printed it out thinking I’d have time to make this with dinner, only to realize that it did not account for the bread machine dough cycle. You’ll need to add another 1-1.5 to the time. I’ll stick to the other Italian bread recipes I’ve found on this site, I won’t make this one again.
I love this bread, but I recommend few definite changes if you’ve got the time. Mix this is a mixing bowl, make a starter of half the flour, all the sugar, water and yeast. Let that starter sit for 30 – 45 minutes. Then add the rest of the flour, knead on medium for 10 minutes, then add the salt and herbs and knead for another 5 minutes. On a table shape the dough into a tight ball, then put in a plastic bag spayed with nonstick spray and let sit in the fridge over night. In the morning, punch it down, shape it, let it rise until doubled (around an hour), then bake as directed.
Like a prior reviewer, I used regular flour and added a tsp of garlic powder. This is an excellent bread!! It will definitely become a “must have” whenever we have Italian food. Great flavor and very easy to make.
YUM!! Reminds me of the wonderful bread that they serve at Macaroni Grill! Perfect for dipping with an herb infused olive oil. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will make it everytime it’s Italian night at our house.
I added 1 tsp. powdered garlic to the bread. I mixedkneaded in my kitchenaid and used regular flour. The resulting loaf was very nice….good height and texture. I will try it again as a plain white loaf as well. A keeper.
Fantastic! The whole family loved it! It’s so good with other main coarses, anything Italian or Middle Eastern. Thank you very much.
I made this for an authentic Italian meal at school. It was a hit with the kids, I also made the Italian Butter on this site. Love the crusty outside and soft inside.
O.K. but nobody really liked it much. I will freeze it and use it for stuffing which I think will be very good.
I have been searching for a good italian bread reciepe. I can’t count how many I have tried. This was superb. I didn’t use the basil or oregano because I wanted a plain loaf. It was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
I tried this out for the first time to spice up some left over stew and it turned out great. This bread is fabulous with Bachelor’s Stew (I found that on this website as well) My husband went back for a second helping of bread, he suggested to try this next time with onions and garlic. We’ll see.
This is a very good bread.