In this lesson, we will take a little detour from the Italian grammar to talk about food, a much-loved topic in Italy, which is a country that is famous worldwide for its excellent cuisine. In particular, we will explain to you how to make homemade bread!
HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPE
Bread is a highly appreciated type of food in Italian cuisine because of its simplicity but also because of its delicious and genuine flavor. Below we will show you a timeless recipe for which you will only need four simple and natural ingredients (which you probably already have at home) to make excellent and fragrant bread!
INGREDIENTS
- 500 gr of flour 00
- 375 gr of water
- 10 gr of salt
- 8 gr of yeast
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Place the flour on the table, making the so-called fontana, and add the salt
- In a glass of warm water, pour the yeast and stir well until you completely dissolve it
- Pour the blend of water and yeast little by little into the flour and knead the mixture, in the beginning, with the help of a spoon and then with your own hands until you finish pouring the liquid
- Keep kneading until you get a compact and homogeneous dough that should have a spherical shape
- Cover the dough with a cloth that is very slightly floured and let it rise for about 20 minutes
- Uncover the dough and give it a rectangular shape with a thickness of 2/3 cm
- Fold the extremities of the dough towards the center three times until you give it the shape of a ball
- Using a knife, cut a cross into the surface of the dough, and let it rise again for about 3 hours
- Lay the leavened dough onto a baking tray covered with baking paper
- Bake for 40 minutes at 200°
- Take your homemade bread out of the oven, and let it cool down for a little bit, and… Enjoy!
TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS
Don’t worry if the final result is not perfect: making homemade bread for the first time might be a bit more complicated than you think, but with practice and some tricks, you will definitely get better at it! Here are some tips and suggestions you might want to keep in mind:
- Be careful with the temperature of the water in which you dilute the yeast: it has to be warm, not boiling hot!
- When you knead, be sure to use your fingers as well as your wrists. In this way, you will be able to apply more energy during this phase of the recipe
- Both instant yeast and fresh yeast are adequate, but if you have the opportunity, use the fresh one to achieve a better result
- Once taken out of the oven, rub the bread with a slightly wet cloth to make the surface shinier
Now it’s your turn! If you decide to challenge yourselves with this recipe, don’t forget to take a photo and tag us on social media! We are going to repost your pictures!
And if you are interested in other Italian recipes and you want to discover some more curiosities, don’t miss the videos about the focaccia barese, an Apulian delicacy, and the one about the tiramisù, a popular dessert here in Italy.
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