Herbed Italian Bread

Don’t you just love the artisan breads available now?  My favorites are black olive ciabatta and breads made with cheese and herbs.  You can turn any basic pizza dough into a crusty loaf with herbs, olives, roasted cherry tomatoes, and cheese.  This recipe is my master Italian dough and it makes a terrific roll for muffalatta, sliced and toasted for bruschetta, and other inspired sandwiches.

Thank heavens for food processors, they are a gift from the culinary gods for making fast work out of labor intensive chores, like kneading bread.  This is a quick and no-knead recipe for the food processor so you’ll need a processor with a large bowl and a large bowl or pot to cover the dough while it proofs.  All-purpose flour is fine all by its self, or you can add some whole wheat flour to kick-up the protein value.   It’s so warmhere in Puerto Rico that any yeast bread dough will rise in 40 minutes anywhere I leave it.  Just be sure to proof your dough somewhere warm and test for proofing after 40-45 minutes.  Leave it longer if need be.

Here’s an old trick I learned from Pierre Franey for making crusty breads:  throw a few ice-cubes onto the floor of the oven just as you start baking.  As the ice-cubes melt they will humidify the oven.    Also, if you want a shiny crust, egg wash the loaf before baking.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 Tbsp for bench flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp fresh coarsely ground black pepper (about 6 grinds)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 pkg. rapid-rise yeast
• 1 cup water (if weather is dry, you may need to add more water a Tbsp at a time)