Emeril's Basic Italian Bread
Filed under
Breads
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003. Baked on a pizza stone, sprayed with water for a crisp crust.
Ingredients
- 2 cup Water, lukewarm
- 1 3/4 oz Yeast, cake yeast, about 1/3 cup
- 5 3/4 cup Bread flour
- 1 tbsp Dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Olive oil, extra-virgin
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 Egg white, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp Sesame seeds
- Semolina, flour, or cornmeal, for the peel
- Cooking spray
Directions
- Put the water and yeast in an electric mixer bowl and let the yeast bloom about 5 minutes. With the dough hook, add the flour and sugar and mix on low until a dough starts to form.
- Drizzle in the oil and salt and beat on medium 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth, firm and elastic.
- Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, spray the dough with cooking spray, wrap with plastic and proof in a warm place 1 1/2 hours, until doubled.
- Punch down, flatten with the heel of your hand and roll up tightly, sealing the seam after each roll, into an oval with tapered, rounded ends.
- Preheat the oven with a pizza stone (or inverted baking sheet) to 425 degrees F.
- Set the loaf on a peel dusted with semolina or cornmeal, cover loosely with a damp towel and proof 30 minutes, until doubled. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with sesame seeds and score 3 slashes 1/4 inch deep at a 45 degree angle.
- Spray generously with water and slide onto the stone. Bake 3 minutes, spray again, bake 3 minutes and spray a third time.
- Bake 45 minutes total, until it sounds hollow when whacked with a wooden spoon. Cool slightly before serving.