What a disappointment this was for me and I had such high hopes after reading the reviews. I followed the recipe to the letter with the exception of adding a few more Italian herbs. My Bread Machine usually gives me excellent results, with this recipe it had a problem kneading the dough, I had to keep loosening it with a spatula it was so dense, then finally I added a little more water but it still kept seizing up, possibly 4 1/2 cups of flour are too much? It took 40 minutes to achieve a light golden baked result and even then the bottom was still very pale. Although the flavor of the bread was good, the texture was very dense and heavy, the crust dry and hard. I used Bread Flour and Bread Machine yeast with an expiration date of 05/09 so I am at a loss to know what I did wrong, possibly I should have divided the dough and made two loaves, but I wanted a large loaf to use for paninni sandwiches. I'll have to try a different recipe.

Reviewed On: Sep. 28, 2008