Bakery Style Italian Bread

I was always so intimidated by using yeast that I never really made breads before....But in the last year I have been more confident with it and I now buy an abundance of yeast to keep on hand ...And I am always searching recipes to test out and add to my favorites...I have been making pizza dough, breads and rolls...and my favorite Easter bread...I came upon this King Arthur recipe that I adapted and I just love it....It reminds me of my favorite bakery bread...I am testing making rolls out of it as I type this...I will keep you posted!....Also this bread begins with using a dough starter that you prepare the night before...which I have never done before...I have to believe that is what gives this bread its nice texture...(Also I used 00 Flour for this recipe because that's pretty much all I use for everything) ...Well here is how I prepared this bread...I hope you enjoy this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

OVERNIGHT STARTER

- 3/4 cup all purpose flour or 00 flour

- 1/2 cup lukewarm water

- 1/ 8 teaspoon instant yeast

DOUGH

2 teaspoons instant yeast

3/4 cups lukewarm water

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

TOPPING

1 Large egg white with 1 Tablespoon water

Sesame Seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make starter...Mix ingredients in a small bowl, cover and let rest at room temperature overnight

FOR BREAD

2.  Combine the starter along with the rest of the dough ingredients...Mix then knead the dough...by hand, mixer or bread machine on dough cycle, to make a fairly smooth dough

3.  place dough in a greased bowl...cover and let rise for 90 minutes ...turning over and deflating after 45 minutes

4.  Transfer dough to work surface and divide into 3 pieces...Roll each piece into a 18 inch rope...braid the rope tucking ends under, set braid on lightly greased baking sheet

5.  Cover the loaf and let rise for 60-90 minutes or until puffy Preheating oven to 425

6. Uncover loaf and brush with egg white mixture and sprinkle heavily with sesame seeds

7. Bake the bread for 25- 30 minutes ...the longer it bakes the crunchier it will get

8.  Remove bread from oven and let cool on a rack...can be stored in a brown paper bag for 24 hours...wrap in plastic and freeze for longer storage

Here is the starter after resting

here is the 00 Flour I use

here are the rolls ..it made 10...bake for 15-20 minutes or an internal temp of 190 degrees

Bakery Style Italian Bread

Author: Natalie Buscemi-Hindman

This Bakery style bread begins with a dough starter that you prepare the night before.

Ingredients:

OVERNIGHT STARTER INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cups all purpose flour or 00 flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
• add these to a bowl...stir and cover to let rest overnight
• this will be added to your dough recipe for your bread

DOUGH

• overnight starter mixture
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3/4 cups lukewarm 
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose or 00 flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• TOPPING
• 1 large egg white with 1 Tablespoon water
• sesame seeds

Instructions:

How to cook Bakery Style Italian Bread

For Dough

1. Combine the starter along with the rest of the dough ingredients... Mix then knead the dough...by stand or hand mixer or bread machine on dough cycle to make a fairly smooth dough
2. Place dough in a greased bowl, ..cover and let rise 90 minutes...turning over and deflating  after 45 minutes
3. Transfer dough to work surface and divide into 3 even pieces...roll each piece into a 18 inch rope...braid ropes tucking ends under...set braid on lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet
4. Cover the loaf and let rise for 60-90 minutes or until puffy...preheating oven to 425 degrees
5. Uncover loaf and brush with egg white mixture and sprinkle heavily with seeds
6. Bake bread for 25-30 minutes ...the longer it bakes...the crunchier the crust will get
7. Remove bread from oven and let cool on rack...can be stored in a brown paper bag for 24 hours...wrap in plastic and freeze for longer storage...ENJOY!

Created using The Recipes Generator