Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

italian bread

(2 ratings)
Recipe by
Bill Miller
Port Clinton, OH

My story goes back to 1942, I had enlisted in he US Coast Guard at 15, My background was a stable boy,so I was selected to be in the Mounted Beach Patrol, We trained our horses at The marine Base on Hilton Head Island, On graduation we transferred to our home station off Fernandina Florida an Island known as Little Talbot, 21 horses and 21 men. a list of jobs was read and volunteers to openings asked, I heard Station Cook, quick thinking that would be better than cleaning stalls so Put my hand up and they grabbed it. There was a wooden stove w/over head ovenand an ice box, hand pump well water

(2 ratings)
prep time 2 Hr
cook time 1 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For italian bread

  • 2 tbs yeast, 1cup of water, 3 tbs plus a splash raw honey , set aside to foam up
  • in a 4 cup measure , add 2 cups hot water, 3 tsp salt, 2 tbs crisco shorteing, set a side
  • 7 1/2 cups of bread flour,, blend in 2 tbs of buttermik powdeer

How To Make italian bread

  • 1
    blend the 2 cups water, shortening, salt together and add to the yeast mixture. Note use Shortening generously threw out process,, this tends to improve the texture in the bread
  • 2
    I should have suggested to dissolve yeast in mixer bowl... with dough hook at medium low speed start adding flour a cup at a time for the first 6 cups then let rest 5 minutes... same speed start adding the remaining flour as needed ,,, when dough starts pulling away from bowl and you can feel the dough for wetness..
  • 3
    have counter working space with sprinkles of flour and pull dough from pan.. A plastic dough knife comes in handy to scrape stuck dough. keep hands floured as you spread out dough in a large circle with finger tips hard to counter top... sprinkle the top surface with flour and begin to knead until dough is right to the feel,, for this you need experience..
  • 4
    divide dough in half, cover,, wool is a good cloth to cover the dough as it will not marry to the wool ...let dough rest while you heat oven to 400 and grease 2 bread loaf pans,, set aside... one pile of dough at a time punch down and spread out as in rectangle... I just roll it with my hands into the length of a bread pans and place inside and repeat with other half. cover and let rise till double in size..
  • 5
    place pans sort of evenly apart an lower middle rack and 20 - 30 minutes.. should be nice golden dark color,, when done remove from oven then loaves onto a wire rack laying on there sides... let cool..
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