Italian Bread!

Hey everybody! Happy 2021!

For everyone who has requested this recipe, I'm sorry it's taken me a while to post it. We've been without internet on the farm since Christmas day so finding the wifi to post has proven difficult. But hopefully it'll be fixed soon and we'll be up and running. Until then I will hit our local coffee shop in beautiful downtown Greeneville (thank you Catalyst Coffee!).

I shared the picture of my Italian loaf bread and had quite a few requests for the recipe, so I'm posting it below. I will say up front we didn't like it as well as my artisan bread (also in the blog posts) but this recipe takes less than 2 hours from start to table, versus 12 hours for the artisan bread. And this recipe makes 3-4 loaves versus 1 loaf with the other recipe. Both recipes are fairly simple and straightforward, and most of the time is hands-off, so I would recommend either. I use this recipe for those days that I just didn't plan ahead and start my dough before breakfast. Because, honestly, sometimes you just need coffee and a break in the morning, am I right????

Aliceson's Italian Loaf Bread

6 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur)

2 teaspoons coarse salt

3 teaspoons yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups hot water

1/4 cup olive oil

egg wash (1 egg beaten and 1 tablespoon water mixed in a bowl for brushing)

Add sugar and yeast to your hot water and sit until bubbly (about 10 minutes). While that's activating, combine salt and flour in a large bowl in your stand mixer (if you don't have one you can do this by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon). Once the water, sugar and yeast have combined, pour into the bowl. Add olive oil and mix for 4-5 minutes with a dough hook or wooden spoon. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes or until it doubles in size.

Sprinkle (LIGHTLY) a counter with a dusting of flour. Knead the dough for 4 minutes and shape into long loaves, approximately 3x10 inches. Depending on how much my dough has risen I get between 3-4 loaves.

Place the loaves on 2 baking sheets and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees at this time.

Brush the loaves with the egg wash and (if you're feeling fancy) slice approximately 1/4 inch on the top of the loaves with a sharp knife.

Bake the loaves for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

That's it! It's pretty simple and the results ARE good. Much better than what you can buy in your local grocery store, I think. And for a wintery afternoon it's a great project that your family will love. I have paired it with homemade chicken noodle soup, pasta, Caesar salad and even used it as a bread bowl for some spinach dip over New Year's. So versatile and easy! That's a win in my book.

If you make this let me know! Hit us up on instagram or facebook, or call/text me if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Aliceson