This classic Italian bread recipe is soft and tender on the inside with a chewy crust on the outside. Homemade bread doesn’t get much better — or simpler — than this!
(NOTE: This post was originally published in 2014 (!). We’ve since then updated it with new photos, but it’s the same recipe you know and love.)
Table of Contents
How to Make Italian Bread from Scratch
Sometimes I wish I had one of those potions from Alice in Wonderland so I can make myself small enough to lay on a slice of this Italian bread like a pillow. A heavenly soft, carbolicious pillow.
But seriously, how wonderful would that be? Because not only are you totally comfy-cozy, you also have a snack right there to munch on as needed. And then when you want to eat the bread as a sandwich or make it into a yummy baked French toast or strata or something, you can take the potion that makes you big again. It’s perfect.
Aaaaaand I’ve lost you. But homemade, soft-on-the-inside-crusty-on-the-outside classic Italian bread, remember? Yes, let’s focus more on that.
Watch How to Make Homemade Italian Bread
Ingredients You’ll Need
I am fairly certain that whenever I went to my grandma and grandpa’s house as a kid, my snack diet consisted of snap peas from the garden, kohlrabi stalks (no, really, so good) and sliced Italian bread from the bakery plain or with my grandmother’s plum jam on it (that is truly one of the best things about life ever, and I hope I can get the recipe one day to share it with you). So when Red Star Yeast asked me to make a loaf of Italian bread using their yeast, I was happy to take it on because nostalgia. And homemade bread. It was a no-brainer.
I was a little nervous that my recipe wouldn’t taste quite the same as what I remembered eating as a youth — that soft, aforementioned pillowy center with a perfectly chewy, flaky crust — but my friends, this recipe is just that and it is a glorious thing. It really doesn’t take much time, effort or ingredients to get there, either. Just a little:
- Flour (bread flour or all-purpose flour works for this recipe!)
- Yeast (Active dry yeast or instant yeast — see Recipe Notes for conversions!)
- Water
- Olive oil
- And a little know-how on shaping it into a batard/torpedo loaf (which I show in the video above!)
And just like that, you’re well on your way to homemade bread blissdom.
How to Enjoy Italian Bread
So in conclusion, I’ll be making a loaf of this bread on the regular this fall and the Season That Shall Not Be Named. And it will be taking any and all of the following forms: Sandwich, strata, bread pudding, French toast, baked French toast casserole, croutons, grilled cheese, toast. Surely I am missing more options, but that’s just for starters.
Of course, just eating slice after slice plain (as I may or may not have done once this loaf was cool enough to cut into) is going to happen a lot, too.
If this crisp-cool weather (or in my great state of Minnesota, the weird summer-after-fall weather we’ll be having) has got you bit by the baking bug as it has me, then put this easy homemade Italian bread on your list. You can thank me for it later, with a sandwich. For dessert, keep the Italian thing going with this olive oil cake, ricotta blueberry cake or an Italian panna cotta!
More Delicious Bread Recipes
- rosemary-garlic no-knead bread
- no knead ciabatta bread
- classic brioche loaf bread
- cinnamon raisin sourdough bread
- whole wheat bread
- potato bread
- nostalgic banana bread
Italian Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 ½ cups bread flour , or all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar and warm water (about 110°F)
- Let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until yeast is foamy.
- Add 2 cups flour, olive oil and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon or with a dough hook on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand 10 minutes, adding just enough of the remaining flour until a soft, smooth and elastic dough forms; OR, increase dough hook speed to medium and knead dough in stand mixer 5 minutes, adding just enough of the remaining flour until a soft, smooth and elastic dough forms.
- Shape dough into a ball; place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise 1 hour until doubled.
- Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicone mat or lightly grease the surface with oil or cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, punch down dough, then carefully shape into a batard/torpedo about 12 inches long. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 20 to 30 minutes until puffy.
- Use bread lame, razor blade or serrated knife to make a few 1/4-inch deep slits in the surface of the loaf. Bake loaf 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Yield: 1 large loaf
- *If you only have instant yeast on hand, use 1 3/4 teaspoons of instant yeast in place of the active dry yeast.
- Use the highest quality olive oil you have on hand, if possible.
- How to store homemade Italian bread: Leave unsliced bread uncovered (or covered with a tea towel) at room temperature 1-2 days. If sliced, store bread cut side-down on a cutting board at room temperature 1-2 days. Beyond 2 days, store bread in a paper or plastic bag, sealed, at room temperature another 1-2 days. You can also freeze homemade Italian bread in a sealed plastic bag for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Disclosure: I received compensation from Red Star Yeast for recipe development purposes. All opinions are my own.
Amazing, turns out wonderful every time I make it. For those who found it sticky when kneading, just a little more flour, works every time.
Hi Carolyn! I’m happy to hear this recipe always turns out wonderfully for you, and you’re totally on the money with the flour advice! Thanks for coming back to share your experience with us, and happy baking! ~gvd team
I made this bread and it came out perfect . I have Sunday dinner at my house every week. I just started making homemade pasta so I tried homemade Italian bread . The next week I had to make 2 loaves . It’s so easy to follow and so delicious I can’t imagine there will ever be another Sunday without it . What I was wondering was can the dough be made ahead of time? It’s not necessary but it would be really easy to just pop it in the oven on Sunday or whenever we feel like having it . Thanks so much for this recipe , it’s THE BEST !
Hi Bobbie! That sounds like an amazing Sunday tradition, thank you so much for sharing it with us! You can make this dough ahead of time. After the first rise, cover the dough and you can put it in the fridge overnight. Then when you’re ready to bake, let is come to room temp and then shape it and let it rise again before baking it. Happy baking! ~gvd team
This is really good. It is my go to Italian bread recipe.
Especially for making pepperoni Rolls. But can I make this into a sandwich bread by putting it into a loaf pan? Please let me know by emailing me at [email protected]
Hi Heather! I’ll shoot you an email, but in case someone else in our bread baking community has the same question, I’ll also answer you here. You can definitely make this in a loaf pan! When you get to the batard step, instead shape it into a rectangle that fits your loaf pan. After the dough has gone through the first rise (and after shaping), let it rise in the loaf pan for about 30 minutes. Everything else happens as written in the instructions! Happy baking! ~gvd team
This recipe is great! Very versatile- either torpedo loaf (standard looking Italian bread loaf) or sandwich style in a loaf pan. Turns out great every time!
Hi Heather! I’m so happy to hear that you’ve had a great time with this recipe! Thanks for coming back to rate/comment, always makes our day! ~gvd team
The recipe was easy to follow. I was unimpressed with the breads’s flavor. It was what my wife would call white bread. It was fine for my purpose of holding chili in my hand.
Hi Michael, I would also call classic Italian bread “white bread” in my professional opinion. It it reminiscent of the crusty slices with soft interiors that you get in a basket at a classic Italian restaurant. You’ll need to go in a different direction for a more complex or sweeter or sour flavor. ~Chef Lindsey
I made this cake this evening and it came out amazing. It’s so easy to make and the short proof time makes it more convenient than some recipes that I’ve seen.
I did find that I had to add a bit more flour than I expected before the dough became stretchy and non-sticky. But all in all we loved it, and it reminded me a lot of the bread that is served at Carrabba’s Italian Restaurant.
I loved that this bread has good substance, rather than an airy texture that is full of voids and holes. This recipe is a keeper and it’s one that I expect to make again.
Thank you!
Hi Tim! Thanks so much for letting us know this one’s a keeper! Happy baking! ~gvd team
I’ve done this twice now and both times it came out amazing! It’s now in my book of recipes that I will be passing on to my kids when they go off on their own.
The second time I had to try adding my red wine and rosemary salt in place of regular salt and my husband asked me when I started buying “bougie ass bread” ?
Hi Leah! What an incredible compliment, I’m so happy to hear that! Love your bougie-bread 😉 ~gvd team
I would love to see you switch to weighing your flour or at least describing how you measure volume. Spoon and level or just dip and level. Can make a big difference.
Hi Kevin! We’ve been adding weight measurements slowly but surely throughout the blog since Chef Lindsey took over, but it’ll take some time. Until then, her pro advice is to fluff your flour in the bag then spoon it into the cup, mounding it on the top. Use a knife to slice off the excess but don’t tap or compress it. ~gvd team
Prep time = 1hr 15 mins
Prove time from the recipe = 1 hr 20 mins minimum
I guess it takes -5 mins to put the ingredients together.
Hi Time Police! Depends on the proofing conditions of your time machine! A lot of factors can come into play 😉 ~gvd team
I added Everything Bagel seasoning to the top, but otherwise followed the recipe. It was great! Will be making this again and again.
Hi Lynne! I’m so happy to hear this is your new go-to! ~gvd team