Easy Italian Bread

As with so many other areas of life, America has a rich tradition when it comes to baking.  I think that this is because American culture draws upon the traditions of so many other cultures.  Here in America, we make everything from fluffy white Italian and French style breads to hearty rye breads from Germany and Eastern Europe.  We make bagels, bread sticks, and buns.  We do dumplings, tortillas, and pitas.  We make sweet breads and savory breads from all over the world.  The best breads, however, come from the home kitchen.

I learned to make bread as a teenager.  I wish that could romanticize that it was because of some deep human instinct or some other such nonsense.  The truth of the matter, though, was that I decided to learn to make bread because I had this empty spot on a goal sheet for a church youth program and "learn to make bread" seemed like the least obnoxious of the various options.  It was also the least expensive by far of any of the cooking options, which pleased my mother.  You can make a whole lot of different kinds of bread with just a handful of basic pantry ingredients.  Sure, you can make expensive bread--every category of cooking has its outliers.  The German bread that I worked on last year had several cups of seeds per batch.  That set us back a bit.  But as I said before, there are hundreds of recipes for bread that call on the baker to use just a few basic, inexpensive ingredients.


This recipe for Italian Bread is no exception.  Adapted from the "Italian Bread" from L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante at the EPCOT Center, it uses just four ingredients and consumes less than two hours of your time.  For yeast bread, that's quick.  It's also easy and inexpensive.  If you make it regularly, you can memorize it.  (Mix together the four ingredients.  Let rise for 1/2 hour.  Shape and let rise for 1/2 hour.  Bake at 400F for 1/2 hour.)  The original recipe has you divide the dough into small loaves that are still large enough to be enough bread for at least two people.  (My own theory is that these are the loaves they set out at the restaurant to keep diners happily occupied until their dinner arrives, and thus are meant for about four people or so per loaf.)  If  you don't like small loaves, though, feel free to divide the dough further into 16 pieces or so to make large rolls.  You can also divide the dough into just 4-6 pieces to make nice and easy bread bowls for salads and soups. Eight small balls of dough can fit nicely on one large baking sheet.  The loaves might rise and grow into each other, but that's fine.  Just pull them apart when they are done baking.  If you want to prevent this, put no more than four or five on a sheet. 

Is this the Italian bread to end all Italian breads?  No.  For that you need half a day of your time and a whole lot of patience.  You need a starter and possibly some professional baguette-style pans.  I know because I've made several artisan Italian loaves.  They are lovely and light and impossibly crunchy in all of the right places.  This is not that bread.  But it is a great bread for the home cook with a couple of minutes at a time spread out over a couple of hours.  (And while the dough is rising you can take care of some more of the neverending laundry, you multitasking maniac.) 

Easy Italian Bread-- Yield: 8 small loaves
3 cups cold water (yes, cold)
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (1 1/2 Tbsp.)
7 cups all purpose flour (you can used unbleached, if you want)
1 Tbsp. salt.

In a large bowl, stir the yeast into the cold water.  Add the flour and the salt (don't pour the salt directly into the yeast mixture or it will kill some of the yeast).  Stir with a heavy spoon until you have a shaggy dough.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and no longer sticky, adding additional flour as necessary.  (About 5 minutes).  Put dough back into bowl and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.  (It does not need to double.)  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Cut the dough into eight equal pieces and form each into a ball.  Place the balls on a lightly greased baking sheet and let sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until nicely browned.