Italian Breads of all kinds!

I really do enjoy making bread and the aromas that fill the house when it's baking. These 4 recipes are all from my cookbook Per La Famiglia and showcase the unique flavours and textures of Italian breads. Release your tension and think about family when recreating these delicious breads, you won't regret it! 

Olive and Rosemary Bread

This bread adds a wonderful aroma to your kitchen and is a perfect addition to serve up with antipasto or your main meal. I also like to bring fresh bread with me when invited over to family and friend’s homes with a bottle of wine. Something I learned from my relatives who are always accepted with open arms. 

1/2 tsp (2 mL) sugar

1 1/4 cup (310 mL) warm water

2 tsp (10 mL) traditional active dry yeast

3 Tbsp (45 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3 1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour (approx.), divided

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped pitted black olives 

1 Tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary

Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. Stir in 2 Tbsp (30 mL) of the oil. Stir in 3 cups (750 mL) of the flour and salt to form soft sticky dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to form a smooth, elastic dough. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Flatten dough into a disk; sprinkle with olives and rosemary. Fold dough over, and knead for about 3 minutes or until olives are evenly distributed. (You may need to add some more flour to help prevent the dough from sticking to the counter) Form into a ball. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press down dough into 11 × 8-inch (28 × 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at narrow end, roll up the dough up into a cylinder, pinching along bottom to smooth and seal. Fit into greased 8 × 4 inch (20 × 10 cm) loaf pan. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Brush top with remaining oil.

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Bake in centre of oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Remove from pan and let cool slightly before enjoying.

Makes 1 loaf.

Focaccia Variation: To make this dough into a focaccia, instead of rolling it into a cylinder, press dough into an 8-inch (20 cm) round baking pan and let rise in there. Before baking push fingers gently in top to make a few indentations and brush with oil.

Ciambella

Sharing bread for Italians only makes sense. With a toast of wine and perhaps a wonderful meal you will surely have an Italian feast in the making. This bread can be enjoyed anytime, but I thought it would be meaningful as a round ring to show the ongoing love Italians have for bread.

I love talking about food, Italian food of course is always at the tip of my tongue and sharing recipes seems to happen naturally to me. One weekend when I was away with some girlfriends, I at the hotel I was staying at one of the staff was Italian. We started chatting and she shared her recipe for ciambella. Now she told me everyone makes it differently which is true, but her recipe is in the style that my dad would drive out of town to get. This recipe has just the right amount of chewiness, and is adapted from Lydia, the woman I met that day.

6 cups (1.5 L) all-purpose flour (approx)

1 Tbsp (15 mL) salt

2 tsp (10 mL) anise seed

1 Tbsp (15 mL) quick-rise yeast

2 cups (500 mL) warm water, divided

1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and anise seeds. 

In another bowl, combine yeast with 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the warm water until dissolved. Pour into the flour mixture and add remaining water. Mix with your hands, kneading to form a ball.

Place dough in a bowl and score a cross on top of the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for 2 hours.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add oil. 

Punch down dough and cut into 8 equal pieces. One at a time, roll each piece of dough out into a long rope. Two at a time, cross and twist the two pieces together to and press ends firmly together to form a circle to join the twisted pieces together. 

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Place the ring in the boiling water and boil for 1 minute or until it comes to the top. (Don’t worry if the ring comes apart a little in the water, it will still be delicious.) Flip the ring over and remove it to a clean tea towel. Repeat with remaining dough. 

Place dough rings directly on an oven rack in middle of oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until bottom is light brown and crisp. Turn them over and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. 

Makes 4 ciambella.

Mini Fresine

Making fresh buns is always fun but how about drying them out and saving them for later? Yes it’s no mistake, with this recipe in my family we make fresh bread only to dry it out for later. It’s a great way to always have bread on hand. You can use these as little crackers and keep them crispy to serve with cheeses or quickly run them under water to serve as bread to eat with antipasto like cheeses or salami. I love adding them dry to salads and soups to sop up liquid and enjoy the contrast of texture in these dishes. They absorb the flavour of the vinegar in salads and the broth in soups.

3 eggs

1/3 cup (80 mL) canola oil

1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water

1 tsp (5 mL) sugar

1 Tbsp (15 mL) active dry yeast

3 1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour (approx.)

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

In a bowl, whisk together eggs and oil.

In a separate large bowl, combine water with sugar and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk in egg mixture and stir in flour and salt. Remove dough from bowl onto a floured surface and knead to form a smooth dough, adding more flour if necessary. Place in an oiled bowl; cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Cut dough into quarters and roll each quarter into long strips and cut into small pieces. Shape each piece into small 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls. Place on baking sheet and bake  for about 15 minutes or until light brown. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cut each ball in half, separate halves and return, cut side up, to baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F (95°C). Return cut fresine, cut side up, to oven for about 1 hour or until crisp. Let cool completely.

Makes 60 fresine.

Tip: You can use 1/3 cup (80 mL) of butter, melted for the canola oil.

Egg and Raisin Bread

This fabulous sweet bread is one of my favourite delicious breads that are braided, shaped and twisted into beautiful gifts to share with family. I remember standing right beside my Nonna to get every measure for this recipe because I love it so much. I drove her nuts that day, but it was worth it to be able to share this delicious recipe.

1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup (125 mL) hot water

1 tbsp (15 mL) traditional active dry yeast

1 cup (250 mL) milk, at room temperature

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (125 mL) salted butter, melted

1 tbsp (15 mL) grated orange zest

1/4 tsp (1 mL) anise extract (optional)

5 cups (1.25 L) all-purpose flour (approx.)

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

1/2 cup (125 mL) golden raisins, soaked

 Egg Wash:

1 large egg

1 tbsp (15 mL) milk

In a large bowl, dissolve 2 tsp (10 mL) of the sugar into water. Sprinkle with yeast and let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk in milk.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs and remaining sugar, butter, orange zest and anise extract, if using. Whisk into milk mixture. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Stir flour mixture gradually into yeast mixture stirring to make soft slightly sticky dough. Stir in raisins. 

Scrape dough onto floured work surface and knead to make soft smooth dough, adding more flour if dough is sticky. Place dough in oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

Punch down dough and divide into 4 or 6 balls. 

Roll out each ball of dough as desired and place on parchment or silicone lined baking sheets or in greased baking pans and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in volume. 

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Egg Wash: In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Brush loaves with egg wash and bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before removing from pan to cool completely.

Makes 4 to 6 loaves.

Tip: To soak the raisins, simply pour boiling water over raisins to cover and let stand until ready to use. Drain well before using.

Tip: You can double this recipe and make some for the freezer. This bread freezes beautifully and is a great gift for family and friends. I enjoy using this bread to serve with coffee but also toasted with butter. It also makes a great French toast for brunch!