Italian Bread Recipe

Name: Italian Bread Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 packet Active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp); 1/4 cup Warm water; 1/4 tsp Granulated sugar; 1 cup Hot water (Hot tap water, not boiling); 1 tbsp Granulated sugar; 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt; 1/4 cup Olive oil; 3 1/4 cups Bread flour (divided)

This Italian bread recipe has a fluffy, soft, tender crumb on the inside with a chewy crust on the outside. Warm, fresh homemade Italian bread just cannot be beaten!

I don’t remember my mother or aunts baking homemade Italian bread.

But I do vaguely remember our Great Aunt Mary always showing up with her fresh-from-the-oven homemade bread and crocheted socks! Haha

Yes, crocheted booties, and we loved them.

Why You’ll Love This

Slathered in European butter, dipped in seasoned olive oil, or just plain it doesn’t get any better.

It’s perfect served along with any of your favorite Italian dishes.

This Italian bread recipe is super easy to make and done in about 2 hours.

So you can make this bread any day of the week.

Slices of Italian bread on black platter.

Ingredients

Active dry yeast – If using instant, there is no need to reactivate the yeast in warm water.
Water – You’ll use warm water to activate the yeast and the hot water (not boiling) in the recipe.
Granulated sugar, olive oil, and kosher salt
Bread flour – We find that bread flour yields a more tender crumb, but you can use all-purpose flour.
Egg – For the egg wash.

Tips

Measure the flour correctly. Aerate, spoon, and swoop level.
Warm water in bread recipes needs to be around 110 degrees F. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast, if it’s too cool, it slows the rising process.
Use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer. The dough hook doesn’t mix this dough well enough.
Resist adding more flour it will make the bread too dense.
We like to use our oven light when rising dough. Just turn the oven light on while mixing the dough and it’s warm enough but not too hot to help the dough rise.

How to Make Italian Bread Recipe

We start by proofing the active dry yeast with warm water. The warm water should be around 105 degrees F to 110 degrees F when making yeast bread and using active dry yeast.

Dissolve the active dry yeast and 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar in 1/4 cup of warm water (110 degrees F).

Let it stand to proof for about 5 minutes. It should be foaming on the top.

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 cup of hot water, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, kosher salt, and olive oil.

Add 1 1/2 cups of bread flour and mix on low with the paddle attachment.

Add the yeast mixture and mix on low to combine.

We found that the dough hook for the stand mixer didn’t mix the dough well enough.

Using the paddle attachment was the best way. You can also mix this by hand if desired.

note

You will be using hot tap water, not boiling water. Don’t worry when added to the bowl with the other ingredients, it cools down and won’t kill the yeast.

Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and mix on low until well combined.

The dough will be very sticky at this point. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.

This bread dough is very soft but should be easy to handle. Resist adding more flour.

Prepare a cookie sheet or baking sheet with parchment paper.

Laying out bread dough into a rectangle.

After the one-hour rise, scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface or large cutting board.

Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle.

Start rolling the dough toward you, jellyroll style. Gently seal, and fold in the two corners after each roll.

Seal the seam and tuck the ends under.

Italian bread dough starting its second rise.

Place seam side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk a large egg with 1 tablespoon of water.

Cutting slices into an unbaked loaf of Italian bread.

After the 30-minute rise, brush the loaf with the egg wash, and using a bread lame or sharp knife, make three or four cuts diagonally across the top of the loaf.

Baked Italian bread on a wooden cutting board.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Allow the bread to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. (if you can)

When baking the bread, we found it didn’t make any difference in the outcome of using a pan of water in the oven or even spraying the oven with water.

This is a great recipe because it’s pretty darn simple and is ready in a couple of hours. Fresh Italian bread every day!

A baked loaf of Italian bread on a black plate with a red and white towel lying next to it.

Slice and enjoy warm, pillowy soft homemade Italian bread!

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Can I make the dough ahead?

When refrigerating the dough it will continue to rise slowly. If you want to refrigerate only do so for up to 24 hours.
You can freeze the dough, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and store in freezer-safe bags for up to 3 months. When ready to bake thaw at room temperature for about 4 hours, then bake as instructed.

Storing

Store any leftover homemade Italian bread in an air-tight container or bag at room temperature for about 4 days. For longer shelf life, refrigerate the bread for up to 7 days.

Freezing

Freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for about 1 month for best quality.

Other Great Bread Recipes