Crustyitalianbread Recipes

Steps:

• Place the water and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. Using a dough hook attachment, add the flour and sugar to the water and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Drizzle the oil and salt into the dough and beat on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a smooth, firm, elastic dough is formed.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and spray the dough with a thin coating of cooking spray. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof in a warm, draft-free place for 11/2 hours or until doubled in size. Remove the plastic wrap, punch down and flatten the rounded dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the dough up tightly, sealing the seam well after each roll. The dough should be elongated and oval-shaped, with tapered and rounded (not pointed) ends.
• Preheat the oven lined with a pizza stone to 425 degrees F. Alternately, an inverted baking sheet may be used in place of a pizza stone.
• Place the dough on a baker's peel heavily dusted with semolina flour, or cornmeal, or alternately on an inverted baking sheet. Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a damp towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, score 3 (1/4-inch deep) slashes across the top of the dough at a 45 degree angle.
• Spray the dough generously with water from a water bottle and place in the oven on the baking stone. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Close the oven door and bake for an additional 3 minutes before spraying the dough for a third time (the spraying of the dough will ensure a crisp golden brown crust). Bake the dough for 45 minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when the bread is whacked with the bowl of a wooden spoon. Allow the bread to cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into a loaf. Place each loaf seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. With a sharp knife, make 4 shallow slashes across top of each loaf. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, garlic salt, and cheese. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each half into a 14-in. loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Brush loaves with water. Make three diagonal slashes about 1/2 in. deep with a very sharp knife in each loaf. , Fill a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan with 1 in. of hot water and place on the bottom oven rack. Bake bread at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Put hot water, salt and sugar into bottom of bread machine pan. Sprinkle flour on top of water. Make a well in the flour and fill with the yeast. Start dough cycle on machine.
• When dough cycle is complete, turn dough out onto a floured surface and kneed lightly. Shape into a round loaf and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or very lightly greased. (Do not use a dark non-stick pan- it will cause the bread to become too dark on the bottom).
• Mix together the cornstarch and water and brush onto the top of the bread. Using a shrap knife or razor slash an "X " onto the top of the loaf. You can sprinkle the top with sesame seeds if you like.
• On the LOWEST rack of the oven place an oven safe baking dish (such as a 9x13" pan) and fill 2/3 full with very hot water. Place baking sheet with bread on the MIDDLE rack. Turn the oven on to 400'. The bread will rise as the oven heats. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Steps:

• BREAD MACHINE DIRECTIONS
• PLACE all ingredients except cornmeal and egg white in bread machine pan according to manufacturer's directions. Process on DOUGH setting.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. At end of dough cycle, remove dough from machine. Place on lightly floured surface. Punch down dough. (If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour before shaping.) Cover dough with clean cloth. Let rest for 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place loaf on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 20 to 25 minutes or until light and doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• CONVENTIONAL OVEN METHOD
• SPOON flour lightly into measuring cup. Level off. Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Mix well. Add warm water and oil. Mix well. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 30 to 40 minutes.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough. Cover dough with inverted bowl and allow to rest on counter 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place dough on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place 35 to 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• High Altitude (3500 ft.):
• No change.

Steps:

• BIGA: Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until a smooth, somewhat elastic batter has formed.
• The batter will be very stiff; it gets softer and more elastic after it has proofed.
• You may find it easier to mix the sponge using electric mixer, with a paddle or a dough hook, on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Scrape the sponge into a 2-quart clear plastic container and cover with plastic wrap.
• At this point you have two options: If you plan to make your dough later that same day, let the sponge rest at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to collapse.
• This may take from 6 to 8 hours, depending on the temperature of the sponge, the temperature of the room, and the strength of the yeast.
• The sponge will triple in volume and small dents and folds will begin to appear in the top as it reaches its peak and then begins to deflate.
• The sponge is now in perfect condition to be used in a dough.
• It's best if you have already weighed or measured out all of your other recipe ingredients before the sponge reaches this point so you can use it before it collapses too much.
• If you're not planning to make your dough until the next day or the day after, put the covered sponge in the refrigerator and let it rise there for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use in a recipe.
• Be sure to compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water (85 to 90 degrees) in the dough instead of the cool water specified in the recipe.
• Or let the starter sit out, covered, until it reaches room temperature (this may take several hours)-but don't let it collapse to much before you use it.
• BREAD: Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast.
• Let stand for 3 minutes.
• Add the cool water and biga to the yeast mixture and mix with your fingers for about 2 minutes, breaking up the biga.
• The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy.
• Add the flour and salt and mix with your fingers to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the ingredients together until the dough gathers into a mass.
• It will be wet and sticky, with long strands of dough hanging from your fingers.
• If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.
• Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until it becomes supple and fairly smooth.
• This is a sticky, wet dough; don't be tempted to add more flour to the work surface.
• Just dust lightly and use a dough scraper as necessary to loosen the dough from the table during kneading.
• Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes, covered with oiled plastic wrap (This rest period is the autolyse.) Knead the dough 3 to 5 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth, yet still slightly sticky.
• Shape the dough into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat with oil.
• Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature (75 to 77 degrees F) for about 1 hour, or until the dough looks slightly puffy but has not doubled.
• Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or preferably, overnight to let it relax, develop flavor, and become more manageable.
• Take the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until it begins to warm up and starts to rise.
• Flour a work surface well and gently dump the dough onto it.
• Divide the dough into three equal pieces, about 13 ounces each.
• Gently flatten one piece, pressing out some of the air bubbles, and stretch it into a rectangle.
• Fold the top third down and the bottom third up as if you were folding a business letter.
• Now form the loaf into a short baguette by rolling the dough over from left to right and sealing the seam with the heel of your palm.
• Fold the dough over about 1/ 3 of the way each time, seal the length of the loaf, then repeat.
• You want to gently draw the skin tight over the surface of the loaf while leaving some air bubbles in the dough.
• Seal the seam, being careful not to tear the skin of the dough or deflate its airy structure.
• Do not elongate.
• These loaves are about 10 inches long.
• Cover an area on the work surface with a thick layer of flour and place the loaf, seam side down, on the flour.
• Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
• The loaves will be loose and slightly irregular in shape.
• Leave plenty of space between the loaves they will spread as they rise.
• Cover the loaves with well oiled plastic and let them rise for 1 to 2 hours, until bubbly and loose.
• Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat and position an oven rack just below the stone.
• Sprinkle a peel very generously with cornmeal.
• Line an upside-down baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle very generously with cornmeal.
• Lift one loaf, flip it over so the floured side is on top, and gently tug on the ends to stretch the loaf to the full length of the peel, or about 14 inches on a pan.
• Repeat with the remaining loaves, placing 2 on the peel and 1 on the pan.
• Dimple each loaf with your finger in about 6 places, but don't deflate them too much.
• Be sure the loaves are loosened from the peel, then carefully slide them onto the baking stone.
• Place the pan of bread on the rack below the stone.
• Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves with water 8 to 10 times, then quickly shut oven door.
• Mist the loaves again after 1 minute.
• Then mist again 1 minute later.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 450 degrees and bake 15 minutes longer or until the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and the crust is a medium to dark brown.
• (If the crust is not brown enough, the loaves will soften as they cool.) Transfer the bread to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.