Author Topic: Italian bread making  (Read 8544 times)

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Online IronDioPriest

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #20 on: February 09, 2012, 06:42:19 PM »
My mom makes what she calls "crusty-bread" that is so delicious I'd live off it if it wouldn't kill me. It's white, very airy and moist on the inside, and (go figure) golden-brown crusty on the outside. She always cuts at least one of the heels for me. Sooooo nummy.
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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #21 on: June 04, 2012, 03:09:53 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.
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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #22 on: June 04, 2012, 03:16:48 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.

Mmmmmmm ........ I can almost smell it from here.
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Offline John Florida

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #23 on: June 04, 2012, 08:26:12 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.

Mmmmmmm ........ I can almost smell it from here.

 Can you taste it dipped in fresh sauce?
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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2012, 08:53:34 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.

Mmmmmmm ........ I can almost smell it from here.

 Can you taste it dipped in fresh sauce?

Can you kiss my ass?
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline John Florida

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #25 on: June 04, 2012, 09:15:29 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.

Mmmmmmm ........ I can almost smell it from here.

 Can you taste it dipped in fresh sauce?

Can you kiss my ass?

 I could.
All men are created equal"
 Filippo Mazzie

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #26 on: June 04, 2012, 09:19:21 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.

Mmmmmmm ........ I can almost smell it from here.

 Can you taste it dipped in fresh sauce?

Can you kiss my ass?

 I could.

No, you can't.  I'm armed with a .38 Nan.

That aside, who luvs ya, baby.
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline Libertas

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #27 on: June 05, 2012, 06:39:48 AM »
What's Italian bread without Italian wine?  An incomplete meal that's what!  More wine!

We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline John Florida

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #28 on: June 05, 2012, 08:16:27 PM »
I'm baking 2 loaves of Pan's Italian bread right now.  I'll be getting major mom points at dinner tonight.

I love making bread on a warm day.  It takes no time at all to rise.

Mmmmmmm ........ I can almost smell it from here.

 Can you taste it dipped in fresh sauce?

Can you kiss my ass?

 I could.

No, you can't.  I'm armed with a .38 Nan.

That aside, who luvs ya, baby.


 ::hat-tip::
All men are created equal"
 Filippo Mazzie

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #29 on: June 08, 2012, 04:24:15 PM »
LV, how did your bread turn out?
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #30 on: June 08, 2012, 06:13:24 PM »
LV, how did your bread turn out?

It was good. I made it in two loaf pans so after the initial eating straight out of the oven we made toast the next morning and sandwiches for lunch.  It's so easy--faster than running to the store because I'm out of bread.  I need to get in the habit of making it every week.

I've been trying to remember to put a pot of soup on every morning in the slow cooker.  With two adult children living here and their work schedules, etc and then the younger ones and their sports stuff someone always needs to eat when it's not mealtime. Having fresh bread on hand would be a good thing to go with the soup.
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Offline John Florida

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #31 on: June 08, 2012, 08:34:42 PM »
We've been making and eating a lot of Italian bread, to the exclusion of almost every other kind.  With the two of us at it, it takes 20 minutes to measure, mix, and clean up, leaving the dough ready for the first rise.  

*As soon as the dough doubles in size, it's punched down, separated into two balls and left to double in size yet again.  Once it does so, I punch it down one last time, form into long loaves and leave it on the baking stone to rise one more time.  Split down the middle, brush on melted butter and bake.  We preheat the oven to 450 and lower to 375 after 5 minutes; two giant loaves of lightish bread with a great crust after about 40 minutes.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water - dissolve the yeast in the water and let sit 5 minutes
2 cups warm water with 1 tablespoon salt dissolved in it
6-7 cups flour  (We use King Arthur flour -- unbleached/unbromated)

Start with 5 cups of flour and mix in the rest of the ingredients; add however much flour you need to get the dough out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured board.  Once the dough is smooth and relatively non-sticky, stop kneading; the more you knead, the stickier it will get and the more flour you'll need. Plop into lightly greased bowl (we use butter) for rising.

As an added bonus, if you double the yeast, after letting the dough rise once, you can punch it down, separate and freeze it for baking another time.  Then, just let it defrost and continue the instructions from *after the first rise.



 My Uncle Mke added olive oil to the dough in his bakery.For this amount of flour a couple of table spoons would do it.
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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #32 on: June 08, 2012, 08:47:27 PM »
I'm aware of the option, I just prefer the bread without it.
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #33 on: August 30, 2012, 10:44:29 AM »
Every time I use your recipe, Pan, I think of you.  :)

Made this a couple of nights ago when dinner otherwise was going to be rather boring leftovers.  Kids didn't mind when I put this bread out.  :)
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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #34 on: August 30, 2012, 11:44:29 AM »
Every time I use your recipe, Pan, I think of you.  :)

Made this a couple of nights ago when dinner otherwise was going to be rather boring leftovers.  Kids didn't mind when I put this bread out.  :)

So nice, LV; thank you.  I bet you turn out a darned good bread.
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Online benb61

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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #35 on: December 19, 2012, 06:37:01 PM »
We've been making and eating a lot of Italian bread, to the exclusion of almost every other kind.  With the two of us at it, it takes 20 minutes to measure, mix, and clean up, leaving the dough ready for the first rise.  

*As soon as the dough doubles in size, it's punched down, separated into two balls and left to double in size yet again.  Once it does so, I punch it down one last time, form into long loaves and leave it on the baking stone to rise one more time.  Split down the middle, brush on melted butter and bake.  We preheat the oven to 450 and lower to 375 after 5 minutes; two giant loaves of lightish bread with a great crust after about 40 minutes.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water - dissolve the yeast in the water and let sit 5 minutes
2 cups warm water with 1 tablespoon salt dissolved in it
6-7 cups flour  (We use King Arthur flour -- unbleached/unbromated)

Start with 5 cups of flour and mix in the rest of the ingredients; add however much flour you need to get the dough out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured board.  Once the dough is smooth and relatively non-sticky, stop kneading; the more you knead, the stickier it will get and the more flour you'll need. Plop into lightly greased bowl (we use butter) for rising.

As an added bonus, if you double the yeast, after letting the dough rise once, you can punch it down, separate and freeze it for baking another time.  Then, just let it defrost and continue the instructions from *after the first rise.

That sounds very simple, I don't have a baking stone would a parchment paper covered cookie sheet be OK?
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Re: Italian bread making
« Reply #36 on: December 19, 2012, 08:55:34 PM »
Don't see why not.  I've never used parchment paper, so I'd sprinkle some cornmeal on it if there's a chance the bread will stick.  If the purpose of the parchment is to prevent sticking, then I'd say you're good to go.
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"