Italian Bread Baked on a Clay Baking Stone
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
- Cooking Time: 30
- Servings: 12
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 (0.25 oz.) pkg. active dry yeast
- 3 tsp. vital wheat gluten flour, optional*
- ********
- 1 egg, for wash
- 1 Tbsp. water
- Cornmeal for dusting
DIRECTIONS
- Place bread ingredients in the pan of your bread maker in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
- Select the "Dough" cycle and press "Start."
- Once cycle is complete, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into an elongated loaf.
- Place, seam side down, onto a sheet of Reynolds parchment paper which has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
- Place a baking stone (pizza stone, if you have one) in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F about 30 minutes before baking time.
- Mix the egg and water together.
- Make a long shallow cut along the top of the bread with a sharp knife and brush with the egg wash.
- Carefully lift the Reynolds parchment paper and place on the hot stone.
- Bake loaf in the preheated oven for approx. 30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- My oven has a speed bake option which browns the bread nicely and decreases the baking time.
- For a crustier loaf, spritz the loaf with water every 10 minutes, and/or place a pan of hot water in the bottom of your oven. Makes a 2 lb. loaf


