Loading...
With the addition of olive oil, you can turn the Hot, Crusty French Bread into a Soft, Chewy Italian Bread!
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 1 loaf
Cook Time: 30-40 minIngredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package yeast (rapid-rise recommended)
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste (I use 3/4 teaspoon)
Directions
In a large bowl, combine olive oil with water, yeast and salt. Let sit for five minutes. Stir in flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead. (Add flour a little at a time. Three cups flour is approximate; exact amount may vary.) Knead dough until smooth and elastic–a few minutes.
Place dough in a greased bowl; cover. Let rise until doubled.
For Loaves: Form dough into a free-form style loaf and place on greased baking sheet. (Dust baking sheet with cornmeal first if desired.) Place immediately in oven (unpreheated!)–bread will rise as oven heats up. Set oven at 375-degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes.
For Rolls: After first rise, divide dough into balls. Let rolls rise till doubled. Bake in 375-degree oven about 15 minutes. (Can also be used to make hoagie or sub rolls–shape as desired!)
Categories: Breads, Other Breads, Rolls, Yeast Breads
Submitted by: suzanne-mcminn on June 7, 2010
Rhonda says:
I made a double batch of this, using regular yeast as I did not have any of the rapid rise yeast. I also decided to use half whole wheat flour.
I recently read a tip on italian bread to add the olive oil AFTER kneading the majority of the flour to increase the rising. I started the kneading in my Sunbeam mixer with the dough hooks and then added the oil at the end prior to turning out onto the counter for kneading.
It was a really cold day here so I set the bowl of dough up in the microwave over the stove to let the heat from the big pot of turkey soup I was making help to encourage it to rise.
Tasted great! and so did the turkey soup!
Thank you or all your great information on bread baking and simplifying the instructions.
On January 9, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Ross says:
If ever you invest in a kitchen scale that can resolve small fractions of an ounce you will be delighted by the repeatability you have with your bread recipes. I stopped measuring flour with a cup about ten years ago and just the other day I decided to scoop foulr from the bag with my steel cup and weigh the resultsix scooped cups struck off with a knife weighed 29 ounces. Using 65 percent water would call for 19 ounces of water (about) That is 2 and 1/3 cups. Put it all in the bowl together and mix/knead until the flour is all moist.
On January 9, 2011 at 9:38 pm