Italian Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

CRUSTY WHOLE WHEAT ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• ----ForBread Machine----.
• Add all ingredients except cornmeal to bread machine pan in the order recommended by your machine's manufacturer.
• Select dough cycle and start machine.
• ----ConventionalMethod----.
• In large bowl, dissolve yeast, brown sugar, and ginger in warm water.
• Let stand 5 minutes until yeast foams.
• Add salt and bread flour; beat well.
• Stir in whole wheat flour to make a stiff dough.
• Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead 10 minutes or until dough is springy, smooth and satiny.
• Wash bowl, grease it, and add dough to bowl; turn over to grease top.
• Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• ----Shapingand Baking----.
• Lightly oil or grease a 14x17" baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal; set aside.
• Punch down the dough.
• Divide in half and, on a lightly floured surface, shape into long loaves, rolling each piece first into a 5x12" rectangle, then rolling each up along the long side to make a long, narrow loaf.
• Pinch edges to seal, and taper ends.
• Place loaves, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet.
• Let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Make 4-5 slashes across each loaf with sharp knife or razor blade.
• Brush each loaf with water and sprinkle with whole wheat flour.
• Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes, until loaves are browned and crisp.
• Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
• NOTE: I also use a spray bottle filled with water and spray the loaves and oven walls once or twice at 5-minute intervals at the beginning of baking.
• You could also make this into one large oblong loaf or a round loaf, but baking time would need to be increased.

ITALIAN WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the dry ingredients together.
• Add 1 1/2 Cups of water and start wetting the dough.Mix it toghether roughly-pinching toghether and incorporating the water into the dough.
• Add another 1/4 cup of water and mix till the water is incorporated and you get a "sticky" dough.Add more water if needed 1 tbsp at a time.
• Usually,bread dough is very sticky and soft.Though if you are unable to handle the bread, you can add more flour.
• Knead it inside a large bowl(Indian way) or the counter for 15-20 minutes.If hand kneading, the more you knead the better the bread will be.
• If using a dough machine or food processor-Only process the dough for a max of 30 seconds after all the ingredients are incorporated otherwise it will be over done and the gluten bonds will break.
• Put the dough in a large bowl. At least 3 times the size of the dough.Brush the top of the dough with a little oil and cover with a moist cloth/cling film.
• Let the bread rise on the counter for 3-4 hours till it's doubled.If the bread hasn't reached the double size but has risen, let it sit for another couple hours.
• After you see that the bread has risen to double its size and you see small bubbles underneath the surface, take the dough out.
• Lightly press it so that the air trapped inside escapes.
• You can shape the bread into a round boule or a loaf.Watch this video for help on shaping.
• Keep the shaped dough in the sheet/pan for baking.Let it rise inside the pan for about 1 hour on the counter.
• Scour the bread with a sharp knife or a blade.2-3 rough cuts so that the steam has a place to escape.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degree.Slide about 1-2 cups of ice in the bottom most part of the oven.
• Place the bread inside the oven.Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees.
• To check it its baked- put a skewer through or knock the back of the bread and it should sound hollow.

RUSTIC WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Stir all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, instant yeast, and salt together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Whisk water and oil together in a cup; pour into flour mixture. Mix on low speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl into a ball.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead just until dough is smooth, about 1 minute. Divide and shape dough into 3 balls for small loaves or 2 balls for larger loaves. Dust loaves with flour and place onto a baking sheet; cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in size, about 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Slash an "X" about 1/4-inch deep in tops of loaves with a sharp knife.
• Bake in the preheated oven until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool completely on a wire rack.

ITALIAN WHEAT ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine olive oil, white sugar and salt. Add boiling water and stir to dissolve sugar; let cool to lukewarm.
• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• When sugar and water mixture has cooled, add yeast mixture, eggs, whole wheat flour and 2 cups bread flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Divide the dough into twenty four equal size pieces and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

ITALIAN HERB BREAD FOR THE BREADMAKER

Steps:

• Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Put pan into the oven chamber.
• Select Basic Cycle.

WHOLE WHEAT ITALIAN HERB BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Mix liquid ingredients and half of flour. Sprinkle in yeast, salt and spices. Add rest of flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl Let rise to develop the flavor of the herbs. Bake @ 350 for 30-35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.