Italian Bread Recipe

Three slices of italian bread are arranged on a white plate.

This homemade Italian Bread recipe is everything you want in a fresh-baked loaf—soft and fluffy on the inside with a crispy golden crust. Whether you're making sandwiches, garlic bread, or dipping into soup or scooping up sauces, this recipe will be your go-to every time.

Course Bread

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Rise Time 1 20

Total Time 2

Servings slices

Calories 87kcal

Author Sherri Hagymas

Ingredients

2 cups warm water 16 ounces or 500 ml
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 7 grams, 1 packet
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
5 ½ cups bread flour 825 grams
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil divided

Instructions

Heat the water to between 100° and 110° Fahrenheit. Any colder and the yeast won’t activate and any warmer could kill the yeast.
2 cups warm water
In the bowl to a stand mix, add the warm water, yeast and sugar and whisk it together. Let it stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved and very foamy.
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
Add 3 cups of flour, sea salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and beat on low speed with the dough hook attachment until no flour remains are showing.
5 ½ cups bread flour, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil
While the mixer is still running, add the remaining flour ⅓ cup at a time and blend between each addition.
Increase the speed to medium-high and knead the dough for 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and not stick to your fingers.
Grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the kneaded dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for an hour until the dough is about double in size.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Punch the dough down and divide it in half and shape each half into a ball and place on a floured surface like the counter or cutting board.
Using a rolling pin dusted with flour, roll each ball into an oval shape about 12 inches long and 8 inches wide.
Then with your hands, roll the dough along the long side into an oval shape and pinch together and smooth the seams.
Place the loaves on the prepared cookie sheet, seam sides down. Tuck each end underneath and smooth it slightly.
Brush each loaf with the remaining olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise again for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Make sure your oven rack has one rack in the center and one on the bottom.
Fill a 9x13 glass baking dish ¾ full with water and place that on the bottom rack. Using a water bath gives the bread a very crisp crust. You can skip the water bath but the crust will be softer.
Score the top of each loaf at least ½ inch deep with a sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.
Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan after 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, place on a wire cooling rack to cool before slicing.

Notes

It’s light and fluffy texture make it perfect for sandwiches or for dipping into soups and pasta sauces.

Substitute with an equal amount of all-purpose flour instead of bread flour.

Store leftovers in a zip closure bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can store it in the fridge for an additional 2-3 days but it does tend to go a little staler in the fridge due to lack of moisture.

After cooling completely, place the loaf in a zip closure freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw at room temperature when you are ready to serve.

Home baked bread does not last as long as bread from the grocery store because there are no preservatives so you may want to freeze one of the loaves for later.

Nutrition