Homemade Italian Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes Italian bread different from regular bread? ›

Italian bread tends to include olive oil, herbs, and milk that add to its distinctive taste and texture.

Derived from durum wheat—the same that's used for many dried pastas—semolina flour has nutty undertones and imparts a golden hue to the bread that makes it stand out from other loaves. As for the crust of a semolina loaf, it's next-level delicious.

Focaccia is ½" to 1" thick with a light crust on the top and bottom. It's often described as "flatbread" or "Italian flat bread," but unlike the flat bread we're used to, it isn't flat at all, but thick and fluffy. The "flat" term in question simply refers to the pan in which it's baked compared to other breads.

Too much extra flour worked into the dough while folding and/or shaping can cause dense bread. Over mixing can cause a dense loaf by the weakening and breakdown of the gluten (not likely to happen if you fold dough or hand knead). The flour you used is a whole grain with coarse bits of bran and grain in it.

If you've made my favorite white bread recipe, you may remember that I opt for all-purpose flour because it produces a super light and fluffy bread. In contrast, we want to use bread flour for this Italian bread due to its higher protein content, which will create a bread that is chewier in texture and a bit denser.

Perhaps the most well-known and popular Italian bread, ciabatta is a slipper-shaped bread. It has a unique, almost plasticity, texture, which makes it possible to do practically anything with this bread.

But over time, the starches undergo what is called retrogradation, meaning the starch granules give back some of their water, as it works its way to the surface of the loaf and evaporates. As this happens, the starches partially revert to their crystalline structure, which causes the bread to become hard and brittle.

The name focaccia derives from the Roman “panis focacius,” meaning “hearth bread”, referring to the fact that focaccia was traditionally baked in coals in Roman times. Its recipe back then consisted of rough flour, olive oil, water, a very small quantity of yeast, and salt, and was probably quite plain.

The main difference between these two loaves of bread comes down to the hydration levels. Ciabatta is baked with a much higher hydration level, making the holes within the dough much bigger than a baguette. Ciabatta is also baked with a much stronger flour, which has a more delicate and sweet taste.

What makes bread Italian bread? ›

Unlike French bread, which tends to be sweet, Italian bread often has a savory taste that adds to its versatility. Italian bread dough is typically wetter than other doughs because it uses more liquid (water or milk) and fat (butter or olive oil). Despite its savory flavor, many Italian bread recipes do use sugar.

One of the great things about Italian bread is that it is low in fat. A typical slice of Italian bread contains less than 1 gram of fat. This makes it a healthier option for those watching their fat intake.

In contrast, Italian bakers often add olive oil to their dough to give it a softer texture and a noticeably sweeter flavor. French bakers also use a wetter dough and a longer fermentation time, which creates a chewy crumb and a hard crust.