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.
I made this and added 2 tsp. Granulated garlic. It came out great and made wonderful garlic bread.
Hi Dayle! That sounds wonderful, I’m glad you loved it! ~gvd team
Ap flour OR bread flour? Aren’t they different? How are they interchangeable? What are the differences using one vs the other?
They are different but only in the protein content. They both require the same amount of hydration, unlike whole wheat flour, for example. So for a simple recipe like this one, you can use whichever one you have on hand. The bread flour, due to the higher protein content, will produce a slightly more chewy bread. Happy baking!
~Chef Lindsey
I made this recipe twice in one week—yes, you heard that right—and I am obsessed! It’s hands down one of the best things I’ve ever baked. The flavour is unreal, and the texture? Don’t even get me started. I’ve never been a fan of waiting a whole day for dough to rise, so I was thrilled that this only took about an hour. Talk about a game-changer! The second time around, I decided to take things up a notch and added some hot Italian bombe sauce. The heat combined with that peppery kick transformed it into a full-on flavor explosion, and the results were nothing short of divine! I’m already imagining all the other variations I can try next time. Honestly, store-bought bread doesn’t stand a chance anymore. If you haven’t made this yet, do yourself a favor and try it. I’ll definitely be keeping this blogger in my recipe rotation—can’t wait to see what other mouthwatering creations they have up their sleeve!
Aww thank you so much for your kind words, Emily and for taking the time to come back to comment and rate! We really appreciate it!
Thanks for the recipe! I am an accomplished “home chef” and “baker”, however I got the bug to do bread. I did this one as my first stab at it, I am HOOKED! Ya know that smell as your mixing up the flour and yeast etc, I need a perfume like that…HAHAHA! I literally love that smell along with the bread baking. It was great and now I am moving on to my favorite, which is Sour Dough Bread. I have read about 15 or so recipes, I have chosen 2 or 3 I like. Any suggestions for me? I have a loaf of your recipe in the oven now, wee hours of the a.m. It’s just the Pup and I, we can do what we want! Smiles. Thanks Again.
Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment! I am so happy you enjoyed this bread. Sourdough and a excellent next step. My only advice is to have an excess of patience and if something doesn’t work, try again! ~Chef Lindsey
The BEST bread recipe! I epic fail at sourdough every time so I gave up and tried this- and WOW! The whole loaf didn’t survive the day I’ll have to male 2 loaves next time! Wonder if I could make amd freeze these?
Hi Emily! I’m so happy to hear you’re a bread baker now! You can freeze homemade Italian bread in a sealed plastic bag for up to 3 months. Happy baking! ~gvd team
This recipe worked fine, came out very pretty, but is not crusty or very chewy as you would expect Italian bread to be.
can you use a bread machine to make this bread
Hi Josephine, you absolutely can! Happy baking! ~gvd team
Very easy, delicious!
Thank you Myra! I really appreciate you coming back and taking the time to comment! You made my day! ~Lindsey
Can I use Einkorn Flour instead? Also, a sub for sugar?
Hi Patricia! I haven’t tried this exact recipe with Einkorn flour, but since Einkorn flour has a different protein content, I would say it’s likely that it may be a bit denser. You could add a little more water to help you get to the ideal consistency! Sugar has a lot of sub options, coconut sugar is a good one since it won’t add moisture–but you could use honey or maple if you want to adjust the water down a bit. Let me know how your experiments go? Happy baking! ~gvd team
I’ve made this recipe several times and love it every time! I have bade loaf bread for sandwiches, torpedo shaped bread, and a bread machine loaf. Due to a busy schedule, I start the dough in the bread machine (it mixes, kneads, rises) then shape it and let set for final rise then bake.
Hi Heather! Thank you so much for reporting back. It means a lot to hear you love this recipe! Happy baking! ~gvd team