Italian Herb Bread

       After mastering recipes for naan and honey rolls, today I finally felt ready to bake an actual loaf of bread. I had done my research, I bought bread flour and fresh yeast, and I learned how to best control all of the variables involved in breadmaking that had previously given me trouble. Side note: For those of you who didn't know that there are different types of flour, you're not alone. Apparently bread flour just has a lot more gluten than regular flour. I picked a type of bread that's hard to mess up, and I'm happy to share that it turned out perfect! Although you could probably use an electric mixer to knead the dough, I found it more fitting to make this rustic bread the old-fashioned way. In total, this recipe took about 2.5 hours to prepare, but most of that time is just waiting for the dough to rise, so it didn't feel like a ton of work. So I'll do my best to describe how I got this result, but I know there are better breadmakers out there than me. It's a learning process for all of us, but after tasting this bread, I can definitely say that it's a worthwhile endeavor.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup slightly warm water
1 packet quick rise yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
a very little pinch each of dried basil, oregano, black pepper, and garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, plus extra for the top
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the top
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup bread flour, plus about 1/4 cup extra to add at various stages of kneading
2 tablespoons cornmeal

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast with the sugar and water and let it sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes until it gets frothy.

2. Mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of rosemary, and the salt, pepper, and other herbs.
3. Mix in the all-purpose flour 1/2 cup at a time. Then, mix in the bread flour.
4. Now, ditch the spoon and work the dough together with your well-floured hands. Spread some extra bread flour over a clean, dry surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes. The process of kneading is hard to describe, but the idea is to get all areas of the dough to have the same degree of stickiness and more importantly, to get air bubbles out. This bread dough is on the stickier side, but if pieces of it start to stick to your hands, you need to add more flour. Try not to add more than an additional 1/4 cup.
5. Form the dough into a ball with no cracks and place it in a large, clean, well-greased bowl. Cover it with a cloth and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour. It'll more than double in size.

Before rising:

After rising:

6. Bread dough always needs to rise twice, so after 1 hour, punch the dough down, fold it in on itself a little, and form it into a ball again. This takes it back close to it's original size. Make sure it's completely smooth. 

7. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper, spread the cornmeal out over it, and place the dough ball on top. Maybe the cornmeal isn't absolutely necessary, but it gives it a texture like real bread. Cover the dough with the dishcloth again and let it rise for an additional hour. Preheat the oven to 400 when it gets close to done.

Before second rise:

After second rise:

8. After it's done rising, brush the top of the dough with a very little bit of olive oil, and sprinkle on some extra rosemary. If you have fresh, it would be even better for the top.

9. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. The top will be crispy and the middle will be fluffy... again, just like real bread!

10. Let this cool for about 20-30 minutes before slicing, but it's of course best when it's still a little warm.

     

     Don't be intimidated, give this a try! Breadmaking is a skill to be patiently learned and mastered. It may seem old-fashioned, but homemade bread is better and probably much cheaper than store-bought. I realize that most people don't have time to do this every day, but if you'll be proud of yourself if you can make it once in a while. So enjoy, and come back tomorrow for peach upside-down cake!