Italian Bread

Originally I wasn't planning on blogging about this recipe. My dad asked me to make some bread last minute for spaghetti dinner. Since we were rained in all day... oh yeah, I live in the Hampton Roads area of VA. If you haven't heard, WE'RE FREAKIN UNDER WATER thanks to the "November Nor'easter"! Google it to see if you can find the video of the guy rowing himself with a broom in a pool float to get to a 7-11! Anyway, back to the bread. It was very last minute, but it came out gorgeous so I twittered about it (tweeted about it? hmm...) Lots of you asked for the recipe, so here it is! It's super simple, and if you apply some basic baguette forming techniques you'll get a pretty fancy looking loaf! ;D




Italian Bread (adapted from The Taste of Home Baking Book)
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F), divided
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add the sugar, shortening, salt, egg, remaining water, and 2 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn the speed to medium and knead for 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Flatten into a rough rectangle. Fold in half long ways and pinch the seem. Fold in half long ways again, and pinch the seem. Turn the dough seem side down and lightly roll from the center to the ends to double the length of the loaf. Place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with a dry towl and let rise until doubled.

Slash the loaf four or five times diagonally with a sharp knife. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.