The Russian Bread and our Easy Braided White Bread are quick loaves of bread you want to try.
crispy Italian bread recipe-
Oh, I’m so excited to update this older bread recipe, it’s amazing. Though it’s a little more time consuming than some of the other bread we have, it’s worth every minute. This bread is the perfect combination of a crispy, crunchy thick crust while the inside is soft and tender. What really makes this bread stand out is the herbs and oil dipping for the bread. It’s seriously amazing!! This bread was shared with me from a coworker when I just got married and had no idea what I was doing in the kitchen, let’s just say my first loaf was a fail, haha.. Though it took me some time, I finally got it. Was feeling very much a domestic housewife at that moment, good memories ;).
how to make Italian bread-
Prepare an initial mixture with some of the flour, sugar and yeast. Add in the warm water and mix on low speed. The mixture will be runny, set aside to rise for 1 hour until bubbly.Stir in the salt and oil and remaining flour. Knead for about 10 minutes on a floured surface.Gently shape dough into a round bread loaf, place into a greased bowl, rise 1 more hour, releasing any air bubbles.Remove dough from bowl and gently shape once more, place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stretch sides to make a smooth, almost flat top (about 9″-10″ in diameter).Run hand under cold water and pat dough with water, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, set aside to rise 1 more hour.Add hot water into a pan into the oven. Make slashes on the loaf.Bake bread until crispy.Enjoy, friends.
NOTE: To clarify, the bread will be baked on the center rack of the oven. The pan with the water is to be placed on the lower rack and not directly under the bread. TIP: Once baked, the bread will feel extremely hard, that’s normal. Once it cools it will not be as hard as it feels when it comes right out of the oven.
oil and herbs bread dip-
This oil bread dip is SOO GOOD! It’s so easy to prepare. Place all of the ingredients into a bowl or plate. Drizzle with the oil, stir and serve with bread. TIP: If any of the herbs are large in size, crush them until fine before mixing.
can I freeze bread?
This Italian bread is great to freeze. Once cooled, freeze individual slices or half of a loaf wrapped in a freezer bag. Thaw bread and enjoy. If you like warm bread, toast or reheat until warm in the oven, we love our toaster oven for this.
Try these other BREAD recipes:
Everything bagel recipe– prepare to be blown away by how easy they are.Chocolate chip banana bread– kids’ favorite!Blueberry lemon cake loaf– the best combination of flavors.Bread machine bread– you’ll make this weekly!
The soft white bread loaf dipped in the herbs dipping oil is truly a recipe to be tried. You’ll love the combination and will want to make it over and over again. Don’t forget to leave us feedback in the comments below if you give the recipe a try! 🙂 This recipe was originally published in February 2014. We are republishing the recipe with new images in May 2019.
