Bread Maker Recipe – Italian Bread

Italian bread is a challenge when using a bread machine. It has no sugar. That's really odd for bread machine recipes. How is the yeast supposed to do it's thing fast enough without it? Well, let me tell you. It "does it's thing" just fine. This recipe reminds me of the old saying, “Cooking is art, baking is science, bread is magic.”

This white flour loaf rises incredibly well, even without the sugar, and creates a wonderfully soft crumb, with a slightly crunchy, chewy crust (the darker the crust setting the more crunchy/chewy). The first time I made it, my wife told me, “Well, it really is white bread. You know, soft like store bought white bread. I don't think you'll like it.” She was wrong. Yes, the crumb was very soft, but this has so much more flavor than the commercial crap at the grocery store. It's not only great for dipping in olive oil, it's great for sandwiches.

Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
3 cups white flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon dough conditioner
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Directions
Place the ingredients in the loaf pan in the order recommend by your bread maker. The main point is to isolate the liquid ingredients from the yeast. Use the French loaf cycle. Set the crust color to whatever you prefer. I like medium for this bread.

Photo by Oscar Martinez