Mom’s Italian Bread

Name: Mom's Italian Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).
Ingredients: 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast; 2 cups warm water (110° to 115°); 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 teaspoons salt; 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

I think Mom used to bake at least four of these tender loaves at once, and they never lasted long. She served the bread with every Italian meal. I love it toasted, too. —Linda Harrington, Windham, New Hampshire

Ingredients

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

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, about 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 four shallow slashes across top of each loaf. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Test Kitchen Tip; To ensure a light texture be sure to take the time to knead well. After kneading the first few minutes, press your thumb into the dough. If the indent stays, you're done. If not, knead a few more minutes.

Nutrition Facts

1 slice: 106 calories, 0 fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 197mg sodium, 22g carbohydrate (1g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch.

Originally published as Mom's Italian Bread in Taste of Home December/January 2010

Reviews

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Average Rating:

stacy

Mar 25, 2019

Delicious! I did an egg white wash before cooking! I was trying to duplicate a recipe a italian neighbor used to make. I did it! Its the same! Sooo wonderful.
Maureen

Mar 17, 2019

Great bread recipe! If you want the brown crust, brush with an egg wash of right before baking - 1 egg wished with a teaspoon of water. I found the bottom darkened so I'd recommend it be in the top third of the over if you're using electric. Mine took just the 20 minutes to bake thoroughly. Made 2 big loafs.
Laura Stefania

Mar 10, 2019

There are a few significant issue with this recipe. First of all, the list of the ingredients needs to be changed... To have 5-1/2 cups written is very confusing as you can see, majority of your commenters have had the same experience as us. 5-1/2 cups of flour is way too much flour, it lacks flavour and takes AT LEAST 45 minutes to start to brown, along with not taking any type of shape and cracking apart in the oven. This ended up turning into ciambelle.
Marti

Mar 8, 2019

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome!
nightskystar

Feb 22, 2019

made this today for my mom's birthday along with my special spaghetti sauce and angel hair pasta. Its easy and yields a lovely loaf..and its done pretty quickly, also!!
GUY

Feb 3, 2019

Great, easy recipe. The bread is delicious, and it browned very nicely. Nice crisp crust and soft chewy interior. The only change I did was to bake it in a pre-heated covered cast iron dutch oven. I baked it for 20 minutes at 450 degrees with cover on, then uncovered and baked an additional ten minutes. Internal temperature of the loaf was 195 degrees when removed from the oven.
Katie

Jan 28, 2019

First off, the bread looks nothing like the picture, it is a really pale white, it gets hard but doesn't brown well, after reading comments suggestions said to dab water for a nicer crust which i decided to do. It has a weird appearance and the bread you can see breaks apart when rising. Im pretty let down after waiting for an hour and a half before even baking it. The loaves are about 12 inches a piece. Its very very heavy and hard. Was incredibly hard to cut through since it's rock solid. The inside is nice and soft not too doughy but Idk if I'd make it again. Overall tastes very bland but would be perfect in soup, as toast, or with an italian dish. If I did use this recipe again I'd add some garlic and herb with butter on top.
Sara

Dec 10, 2018

I have never made bread before and this recipe made it so easy!! Instructions are easy to follow and I even baked cookies while waiting for the dough to rise. My entire family LOVED it. This is definitely my new go to recipe. I can't wait to try and add some flavors next time!
Mickey

Nov 11, 2018

First, it was an easy recipe. It tastes great. If you want a hard crust, spray with water before cooking, and once during. I also, used the King Arthur olive oil herb for one cup of the flour to create a different loaf the next time. Definitely a keeper. thanks.
Mike

Jun 15, 2018

A frequent request when we invite friends for dinner. Makes GREAT toast, too!