Italian Bread...a delicious pound of patience
Making bread that's tasty is easy if you have a little patience. And, like I tell everyone, it's a great stress reliever.
As we go through the process, you'll see why you can knead your way to a more peaceful state.
Most breads take 4 or 5 hours to complete from start to finish...some a little more, a few a little less. Start after breakfast to make a loaf for dinner and you'll be sure to have enough time.
Here's a really simple recipe for Italian Bread that you can make if you have lots of time on your hands...breadmaking doesn't involve a lot of hard work, but you have to be willing to wait for great results.
Italian Bread
6 to 7 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups hot water
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
Blend at low speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds and then at high speed for 5 minutes.
Stir in the rest of the flour, a half a cup at a time. Stir with a spoon at first, but by the time you are done adding the flour, you will have to mix with your hands.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it in a push-turn-fold motion. Occasionally, throw the dough on the counter to break the motion.
Keep this up for 15 minutes.
Put the dough in mixing bowl and pat it with butter to keep the surface from crusting. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise for an hour and a half.
When it has doubled in size, uncover it, punch down the dough and pull the edges into the center.
Turn it over and recover it.
Let it rise for another hour. (You see why you have to be patient, but there is more to come.)
It should be double in size and when it is ready, the dent will remain when you poke it with your finger.
Divide the dough in two pieces, cover them both with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Finally, roll each pieces of dough into a 12 by 15 inch rectangle that's about a quarter of an inch thick. Roll it up tightly and tuck the ends under. Place it seam side down on the baking sheet.
Cover the loaves with a towel and let it rise for another hour. (Not too much more waiting left.)
Put a shallow pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut diagonal slashes in the loaves and brush the tops with a mixture of egg whites and water.
Place the loaves in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Brush them again with the egg white mixture and shift the loaves 90 degrees in the oven.
Lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
Cool the loaves on a wire rack.
If you're not going to eat the bread within 24 hours, freeze them and warm them up when you're ready to eat them.
Vegetarian.
