Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2009

tasty! I did exactly in the recipe and it turned out awesome! thanks for sharing.

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Josephine

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Reviewed: Oct. 26, 2009

Bread gets 5+..directions get a 2. This appears to be written for "bakers", which I am not. Here's some info the non-bakers might find helpful! PROOFING YEAST: put water, sugar in bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let it sit 2-3 mins until it gets bubbly and smells like bread. Then proceed as directed. FIRST RISE: this took 1 Hour in my oven with the light on. PUNCH DOWNS: Gently punch down, remove from bowl onto lightly floured surface. Don't knead it again, just get the air bubbles out. Put back in bowl as directed. Again placed back in turned-off oven with light on. This SECOND RISE took 30 mins. SECOND PUNCH DOWN: same as above, but don't put back in bowl. Form into loaves as directed (I made two). Place cornmeal only under the bread loaves because excess not underneath will burn when you start cooking it. FINAL RISE: loaves covered with towel, again in "off" oven.. this took 30 mins or so. Then I put on counter and heated up oven(s) to 450 for baking. It took 20 mins to cook them. Very delicious, crispy crust (not crisp today but still wonderful). Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!!

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LDALLAS

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Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2009

This recipe was just amazing! I too followed the other reviewers suggestions and it came out fantastic. It developed a perfect brown crust and it was soft on the inside. It taste just wonderful, Love it!

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oyuki

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fresno, California, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 23, 2009

THIS RECIPE WAS AWSOME!!! If you've never made bread by hand before.. it's actually very easy! This was my first time making bread by hand. I followed the ingredients exactly but I used all the suggestions in the reviews, below the recipe, for how to make it. Thanks guys for all the GREAT tips! I do have a bread machine but making it by hand definatly taught me something about how to make bread and what it should feel like and the taste was just so much better than bread from the bread machine. I made 2 large loaves, one I cut up and used for garlic bread that night and the other we ate right out of the oven warm w/ butter on it. OMG.. It was amazing! I knew from the start that this would be a great recipe when I read in the directions to "knead until as soft and smooth as a Bambino's behind!" LOL... Thanks Mama D!!!

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giggletush

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2009

This was fantastic! Followed the recipe to a "t" except made 2 bigger loaves instead of 3. Served it with homemade chile tonight and everyone raved about it. My mom loved it, and my wife and kids wouldn't stop eating it. Ate a whole loaf at dinner.

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David

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Conestoga, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 10, 2009

Absolutely awesome recipe!!!!!! Nice crispy crust and delisciously soft inside. I added a Table spoon of garlic powder to the recipe as I was wanting garlic bread and it came out perfect.... Added the garlic powder at the same time as the salt. Next time I will add fresh garlic for that Tuscan touch! Again this is awesome Italian bread!

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Innemeth

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Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2009

Can't wait to make this again! Soooo good- makes great toast with the leftovers too! I needed a lot more flour- like 3 cups extra- and it was still pretty moist. I made 2 fre form loaves. Great recipe!

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COURTNEYGRIFF

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Sep. 26, 2009

Didn't rise enough...

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Jeff PG

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Reviewed: Sep. 11, 2009

First off, I'm no expert in making bread. I made it once in high school and once in a bread machine. Many times I thought I'd messed this up, by not proofing correctly or overcooking. Just had a piece and it's heaven in my mouth! Great recipe, will make again for sure.

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Jenny B

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Sep. 5, 2009

The taste, texture, & crust of this bread is outstanding. My family loved it! However, the directions were not as great. I just made the bread how I usually make bread and it turned out nice. I sprayed some water onto the loafs before putting in the oven and again within the first few moments of baking. I did have a spreading problem during the last rise. The "footballs" looked rather deflated. I think that the liberal use of olive oil on the pan contributed to this because the loaf on the unoiled baking stone didn't have this problem. After baking it didn't really matter though and the bread was great- one to eat with dinner, one to share, and one to freeze for another day!

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TAYLORBUNCH

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 29, 2009

I gave this recipe 4 stars because the bread turned out great as far as the crust and consistency of the bread go. However, it would only be 2 stars flavorwise. Next time I will add more salt and some pepper and/or herbs. Bread takes a long time, but is worth it if I can find the right flavor combination.

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Jocelyn

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 17, 2009

It was very good.

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Shadesrose

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Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2009

Great flavor. I halved the recipe and made two medium sized loaves. Think I overcooked it a tad because the crust was a little too thick; I've never sprayed my bread with water while cooking and I must have overdone it.

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ONIOND

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 22, 2009

Awesome and so easy! My husband who is a very picky eater loved it! The only thing I did different was not seperate the dough into three pieces the second time I let it rise. I seperated into three sections after the second rise and put each into a loaf pan where I let them rise a 3rd time. Delicious!

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Tina

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Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

Easy and awesome. First time baking bread from scratch with yeast and had no troubles. No reason to buy bread again after you've had fresh.

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Braxton Howard

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Reviewed: Jun. 29, 2009

This bread came out very nice and the house smelled great while it was baking.

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Noty

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Tampa, Florida, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2009

In the original caption it reads "...you can freeze what you cannot use or give them away to your friends." NOT ON YOUR LIFE - THEY'RE ALL MINE AND I'M EATING THEM NOW!!!! I did only make 2 larger loaves with the intention of eating one with dinner tonight and giving the other loaf to the people upstairs, but they've only been out of the oven for 20 min and 3/4 of one loaf is already gone. I'm contemplating on making another batch. The salt factor is a personal preference, since so many reviews reduced salt I did as well ~ next time I think I'll use the full amount. If you like a very crispy crust there are 2 things that you can do, 1~ spray with water every 2 min during the first 10 min of baking or 2~ re-warm the bread for 5 min just before serving. I always place a pan of water on the bottom rack when baking bread, but I was watching a movie when it went into the oven so I didn't mist it as well so my crust came out on the soft side, but after completely cooling putting it back in the over for 5 min made the crust crispy like my husband likes it. In the next loaf I'm going to try adding some garlic and herbs to the mix for different flavors. I will definately make this again and again.

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Stacey

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jun. 21, 2009

Wonderful! A minor note though is that Scoring your bread really makes a difference. I had never done it (scoring) before, and it was really easy, making my bread look like a master piece.

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