Plain Ole Italian Bread Abm Recipes

Steps:

• Add flour, oil, salt, sugar, yeast and water to your bread machine according to its instructions.
• Set on dough setting.
• Always follow your machines instructions, when mixing open it and keep check on the dough. Dough should be in a nice round soft sticky to the touch ball. If it is not add more water, or add flour which ever is needed.
• Remove when signal beeps and cycle is done.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Sprinkle cornflour or cornmeal onto a baking sheet.
• Punch dough down and form into a long or oval loaf.
• Cover and let rise for 25 more minutes.
• It should be doubled again by this time.
• Uncover and slash the top with a sharp knife or razor.
• Brush all over with the beaten egg white.
• Bake 25 minutes to 35 minutes, until hollow sounding when tapped on bottom.
• Cool.

Steps:

• Place Water, Olive Oil, Brown Sugar, 2 Cups of the Flour, and then Salt in the pan of the bread machine. Then add the remainder 2 Cups of the Flour (make a little well) and add Yeast.
• Use the French Bread Setting, Medium Crust, 2 lb loaf.
• As the dough is forming you may want to check and scrape the sides a time or two.
• Let the machine do its thing and enjoy the aroma!

Steps:

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

Steps:

• Sift out 4 cups of flour onto middle of table or work space.
• Put yeast, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the flour into a medium bowl and whisk until well blended.
• Add the warm (110° - 115°) water, mix well, and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Lightly oil (olive oil, maybe 1 teaspoon or less) another medium bowl (one that is heavy and holds heat).
• When yeast is bubbly and smells yeasty, add 2 more cups of flour and the second teaspoon of sugar.
• Mix until flour is incorporated, then add the olive oil.
• Turn out of bowl onto flour (the remaining one cup of flour) on the table and knead for 10 minutes.
• Place dough in oiled bowl turning over to coat all surfaces.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot (I put mine in an unlit oven with the light on) to rise, about 45 minutes.
• Spray cooking spray on 2 medium cookie sheets and set aside.
• When dough has about doubled, punch down and make into desired shapes.
• To make loaves, divide into 2 portions. flatten into rectangle about 4" x 12", folding the 12" sides toward the center and pinch together, also pinch the ends. sprinkle cornmeal on pans and place pinched seam down.
• Sprinkle more cornmeal on top and sides of loaves and cover gently with plastic wrap then place a light towel on top (to keep them cozy warm).
• To make buns, divide dough into 8 portions and pinch into round shapes, putting the pinched side down, in the same manner with the loaves. (The tension created by pinching, or sealing any open seams allows the bread to rise instead of just spreading sideways like a blob.).
• Let rise again for another 45 minutes.
• During this time, I check to make sure the bread is not sticking to the plastic, adding more cornmeal, if it is. Even if the bread sticks and falls as you pull the plastic away, it does no great damage, the bread just looks ugly, (tastes fine).
• Put the bottom of your broiler pan in the bottom of the oven and heat the oven to 425°. (make sure that the pan is very close to the oven door.).
• When temp is reached, put bread into oven (back a little from the door), pour 2 cups cold water into broiler pan, and turn temp down to 400°.
• Bake 20-30 minutes. I usually check after 20 minutes and give more time as needed.
• I brush off all the excess cornmeal and slice the buns before they get too cool.

Steps:

• SPONGE STARTER (This makes enough for two recipe batches or 6 loaves): Mix all the sponge starter ingredients together using a KitchenAid with dough hook, on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until a somewhat elastic and very stiff batter has formed.
• Scrape the sponge into a plastic container and cover it with a see-thru lid (or plastic wrap). Let the sponge rest about 6 hours at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to collapse. The sponge will triple in volume and small dents and folds will begin to appear in the top as it reaches its peak and then begins to deflate. The sponge starter is now ready. NOTE: At this point you can refrigerate the starter and it can stay refrigerated for up to 1 month (just bring starter to room temperature before using).
• TO MAKE THE BREAD: Combine the warm water and yeast in your KitchenAid bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes.
• Add the cool water and 1/2 of the sponge starter to the yeast mixture and mix for about 1 minute, breaking up the sponge. The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy.
• Add the flour and salt and mix to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl until the dough gathers into a mass. It will be wet and sticky, with long strands of dough hanging from the dough hook. If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.
• Add a Tbsp or so of flour and knead for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes supple and fairly smooth. This is a sticky, wet dough; don't be tempted to add too much flour. Turn off the mixer, and using a large dish towel or plastic wrap, cover the bowl while still on the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes (autolypse stage).
• Remove plastic wrap and knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth yet still slightly sticky. Dump the dough onto the counter and shape it into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm dark place for 1 hour then transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 8 hours (up to 24 hrs) to let it relax, develop flavor, and become more manageable.
• Take the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until it begins to warm up and starts to rise.
• Flour a work surface well and gently dump the dough onto it. Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, gently flatten, pressing out some of the air bubbles, and stretch it into a rectangle(You can hold the dough up in the air and use the gravity to help form the rectangle). Fold the top third down and the bottom third up as if you were folding a business letter. Seal the seam with the heel of your palm, then repeat with the letter fold. (You want to gently draw the skin tight over the surface of the loaf while leaving some air bubbles in the dough or deflate its airy structure).
• Now form the loaf into a baguette by rolling the dough into a loaf shape. The loaves should now be about 10 inches long. Place loaf onto a sheet of parchment paper (cut to fit your stone) with enough room for the other two loaves.
• Make the other two loaves. The loaves will be soft and slightly irregular in shape. Leave space between the loaves as they will spread as they rise. Cover the loaves with well oiled plastic and let them rise for 2 hours.
• Place a baking stone in the oven on the 2nd rack from the bottom and preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Diagonally score each loaf in about 4 places about 1/8" deep, being careful not to deflate them too much. Carefully slide them with the parchment paper onto the baking stone in the oven.
• Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves and the sides of the oven with water (careful not to spray the light bulb), then quickly shut oven door. Mist the loaves again after 2 minutes, and again after another 2 minutes. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and the crust is a medium to dark brown. (If the crust is not brown enough, the loaves will soften as they cool). Transfer the bread to a rack to cool. Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.