Italian Bread Recipe

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside

5 from 1 vote

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Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine French, Italian

Ingredients

3 cups Bread Flour
2 tsp Baking Yeast
2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups Warm Water

Instructions

Add all ingredients together in a large bowl. Using a spatula, mix until combined. It will be sticky, but don't add flour. Dump the dough into another large bowl, and put cling wrap over the top. Proof overnight on your kitchen counter or in a warm place.
The next day, preheat oven to 450F, and lightly flour your counter and dump the dough on top. Sprinkle some flour all around the dough, then pull each side of the dough and fold each side down on top of the other (like a trifold). Gently, shape the dough into a ball by tucking in the edges. Don't play with the dough too much.
Place the dough on parchment paper, and into the Dutch oven and cover. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Gently take the cover off, and bake for another 12 minutes uncovered. Let the bread rest for at least 10 min. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can make this bread on a baking sheet! Follow all of the same directions, except place the dough on a baking sheet instead of in the Dutch oven.

In order to have a crispy outside and soft inside, there needs to be moisture retainment in the oven. To recreate this, place a cast iron pan or oven safe pan into the oven when it is preheating. When you place the dough into the oven, pour 1 cup of water into the cast iron pan. It will steam up. Close the door and bake for 30 minutes. Open the oven door for a second and bake for another 12 minutes. This will replicate the cover on the Dutch oven.