Pats Basic Italian Bread Recipes

ITALIAN BREAD I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
• Whisk together the oil, egg, and buttermilk in a small bowl.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, and dried herbs. Stir in cheese and onions. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Add garlic and tomatoes until evenly distributed. Spread batter into prepared pan. Smooth top, and tap pan on counter to remove bubbles.
• Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, until golden. Cool loaf on wire rack.

MAMA D'S ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.
• Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino's behind. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. (I put it in the oven with the light on - perfect rising temperature.)
• Once doubled, punch down and divide into three. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.
• Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat "footballs." Grease heavy cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.
• Once risen, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Mist loaves with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

MOM'S ITALIAN BREAD

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.

BASIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Biga: Mix the yeast and water together, and then slowly start adding the flour, mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for up to 6 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
• Bread: Place the water in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over top and mix well. Let sit 10 minutes until bubbly.
• Add the biga, flour, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon (or mix with your hands) until everything is mixed. The dough will be fairly wet and sticky at this point.
• Cover and let stand in a warm spot for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in volume. Punch down the dough, folding it over on itself two or three times, cover and let rise once more until doubled, about 1 hour.
• To bake the following day, refrigerate the dough at this time and leave it overnight.
• Turn out your dough onto a floured baking sheet, and without overworking it too much, shape into one large or two smaller round or oval shaped loaves, using as much extra flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Slash across the tops of the loaves with a serrated knife or razor just prior to baking.
• Preheat the oven to 350° F and place a casserole dish with boiling water on the lower oven rack. Bake for 30 minutes, turn the baking sheet around, and reduce the heat to 300°F and bake for another 30-45 minutes. Bread should be golden brown and should sound hollow when you tap the bottom.
• Allow the bread to cool to room temperature and serve.
• Baking Tip: You could also use a baguette pan to make long thin loaves, or spread your dough across a well-oiled cookie sheet to make focaccia.
• Variations:*Roasted Garlic & Basil Bread: Coarsely chop 1-2 heads (bulbs) roasted garlic and add to flour along with about 1 teaspoon crushed dried basil.
• Rosemary Bread: Add 4 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary to the flour. Brush the loaves with water and sprinkle with coarse sea salt just prior to baking.
• Olive Bread: Add 12 ounces flavorful, pitted olives, coarsely chopped to the flour.
• *To roast garlic: Heat oven to 350°F Peel away paper like skin from around the garlic bulbs leaving just enough to hold bulb intact. Trim tops of garlic bulbs about 1/2 inch to expose cloves. Place bulbs stem ends down on 12 inch square of foil. Drizzle each bulb with 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil. Wrap securely in foil and place in pie plate or shallow baking pan.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until garlic is tender when pierced with toothpick or fork.
• Cool slightly. Gently squeeze garlic out of cloves (1 ounce bulb of roasted garlic= about 1 Tablespoon mashed garlic).

RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD

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.

PAT'S TOMATO BREAD SOUP

Steps:

• Put olive oil in a soup pot and add crushed garlic and bread.
• Saute bread until golden.
• Add beef broth and tomatoes.
• Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover and simmer an additional 40 minutes.
• Just before serving, add fresh basil leaves or spinach leaves.
• Cooking time is approximate.

CIABATTA ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer, add all of the dry ingredients and stir with a fork. Add the dough hook then slowly add the water and oil and blend until a dough forms.
• Continue to knead the dough on low for 5-7 minutes, dough will be wet & sticky.
• Grease a large bowl. Form the dough into a rough ball and add to the greased bowl. Turn the dough in the bowl to grease, then cover with a tea towel. If the bowl has a lid, use that instead, but do not seal it, just leave it loosely on top.
• Let the dough rise in a draft free spot for 1-2 hours, or until doubled.
• Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, handling the dough as little as possible to avoid deflation. Place the loaves on 2 parchment lined baking sheets then lightly dust the loaves with flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 more hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the bread has a golden colour.
• Cool on wire rack.