Rustic Italian bread is a delicious bread to enjoy with any meal. It has a crisp crust on the outside and a soft inside.
The ingredients needed are simple – flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil. You mix these by hand, no special machines needed. After mixing, you let the dough rise before baking.
During the rising time, the flavors develop to make the bread really tasty. What’s also nice is you can try different flour types like all-purpose or tipo 00 flour.
You can also add things like sesame seeds, garlic or fresh herbs to make it your own. Then, once baked, the crust is crunchy while the inside is tender.
This bread goes perfectly with pasta, soup or other dishes. Plus, anyone can easily make it at home. Whether for family or friends, rustic Italian bread adds great flavor and texture to any meal.
Its deliciousness makes it a favorite side. So whether you enjoy it with a homemade sauce or salad, this bread takes the meal to another level. I definitely recommend giving it a try!
Rustic Italian bread Ingredients
Flour (such as all-purpose flour, Farina Tipo 00, or a combination) : I tried this recipe two time, first time, I used all purpose flour and second time, I used Farina Tipo 00 . With Farina Tipo 00, bread was lighter and more tender due to farina Tipo 00 has low protein
Warm water : I used warm water.
Olive oil : I used olive oil.
Salt : I used salt.
Active dry yeast : I used dry yeast.
Sugar : I like sweeter bread, that’s why I used sugar
Optional ingredients
Sugar : if you don’t like sweeter bread, you can omit this.
Sesame seeds
Cornmeal
Coarse sea salt
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour or Farina Tipo 00
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
Optional: sugar, sesame seeds, cornmeal, coarse sea salt
How To Make Quick Crusty Rustic Italian Bread
First, combine 1 cup warm water, 2 tsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast in a bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes until creamy.
Next, in a separate bowl mix 3 cups flour (all-purpose or tipo 00), 3/4 tsp salt and any optional ingredients like herbs.
Then, add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix until sticky. Slowly stir in another cup of water to form a dough ball.
After that, knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
Once risen, punch down the dough and shape it into a loaf on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
Once ready, preheat oven to 375°F. Score the dough top at an angle using a sharp knife.
You can also brush with egg white and sprinkle with salt for extra flavor, if desired.
Finally, bake for 30-35 minutes until deeply golden brown.
Let cool completely before enjoying your homemade rustic Italian bread!