Bread Baking

The aroma of freshly baked bread just sends my head spinning! There's nothing like a hot loaf of bread just out of the oven.

I've been on a quest to find a tasty recipe for italian bread. The first recipe I tried came from a friend, Kari, when I tried it at her house-delicious! The recipe comes from the blog, "The Sisters Cafe" and you can find the link here: http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2008/03/macaroni-grill-bread.html

Bread from Macaroni Grill(This is a recipe intended to approximate that awesome chewy bread that they bring out at the Macaroni Grill. The kind you dip into the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cracked garlic.)

1 Tbsp. Dry Yeast

1 Tbsp. Sugar 1 cup warm water (105 – 115 degrees)

2 ½ cups white flour, divided

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. rosemary, chopped, (I used about a tablespoon of dried rosemary and it worked great.)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Coarsely ground salt

Put the yeast, water and sugar into a blender. Mix it until it is frothy.Turn the oven onto 200°. (You just need to warm it up; you’re not baking yet.)

To the mixing bowl of yeast mixture, add two cups of the flour, salt, and half of your chopped rosemary. Keep the other half cup of flour close at hand. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Add the rest of the flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency (soft and stretchy without being overly sticky).Turn the oven off

Lift the dough out of the mixing bowl. Add the olive oil to a bowl and swirl it around. Roll the dough in the olive oil so it is well coated and let it sit in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and place it in the oven (the oven should be off by now, if you missed that step). Leave the door cracked so it isn’t too hot in there.Let the dough rise for about an hour. It should be approximately doubled in size. Punch the dough down and knead it again. Divide it into two equal sized lumps and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.( I just made one big loaf–but I am thinking it would have been easier to cut–not smash so much if the loaf was smaller–so I think I will follow these directions next time)

Prepare your baking pan. I use a ceramic stone, but a cookie sheet will work. If the surface is not naturally non-stick, spray it with the cooking spray, or use parchment paper. Shape the dough into two oval-shaped loaves and arrange on the pan. Melt the butter or margarine. Use a brush to paint the surface of the loaves with butter. Use all of the butter. The loaves will be quite saturated when you’re done. Take the rest of the chopped rosemary and sprinkle it over the loaves. Pat it down gently to set it into the dough. Return the loaves to the oven. Don’t turn it on yet. Let the dough rise again, for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and preheat the oven to 450°. Sprinkle a little bit of coarse(kosher salt is perfect) salt over the loaves. Return the dough to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown.Makes two loaves. Best enjoyed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.

 

I loved the rosemary in this bread, though I'm not usually a rosemary fan. It seems to give it just the right amount of flavor. I also loved that it didn't take too much time to make this recipe. My only complaints are that the recipe called for a lot of butter (the couple times I've made this there has been no way that I could drizzle that much butter on top-I usually used 1/2 the amount), and that the loaf isn't crusty. I don't know, maybe it's me, but I love a crusty loaf.

 

So I searched again and found a recipe for ciabatta bread (love to get a sandwich on ciabatta bread from Panera's!). Found a video on YouTube that taught me how to make it:

(Can't seem to figure out how to make the video larger-you can copy and paste this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX_6l2bmvQI)

LOVED this recipe!! It was so chewy inside and had the perfect crust. What blew my mind was that it only takes 4 ingredients and that you don't knead it. I thought it was so easy that I taught some 9-10 year old girls how to make it. The only drawback to this recipe is that you have to let it sit forever-well, not forever, but for 18 hours! Yes, I said, 18 hours! But that's what it takes to make the long gluten strands that give you the chewy center. Another drawback is that this recipe doesn't have as much flavor as the first one. It's great for dipping in balsamic vinegar/olive oil, but I'm not always in the mood for that. But it's still a great recipe!

So, as soon as it's cool enough to heat the oven, I'm going to attempt to combine these two recipes. I'm hoping to get the chewiness/crunchiness of the second one, but have the flavor of the first.

I bake both of these recipes, and put my loaves in the freezer for future use. It's easy to pull one out and pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes and heat it up-makes the house smell fabulous and my family thinks that I've been slaving in the kitchen baking all day. The last time I made bread, my son was in the kitchen as soon as it came out of the oven, and he stood over it and just kept saying, "I can't control myself-I need a piece!" It was hilarious! He could down a whole loaf just by himself, if I let him!

Do you have a favorite italian bread recipe?!?