Homemade Italian bread is actually very easy to make and tastes delicious! While you could buy a loaf of Italian bread from the grocery store, baking bread is fun and satisfying. Warm, toasty bread from the oven is pure comfort food.
I love my 1963 homemade white bread for sandwiches and everything peasant bread for snacking, but this Italian loaf is perfect with a bowl of spaghetti, or alongside a plate of my crockpot roast beef!
Italian Bread Recipe
There’s a definite difference between French bread and Italian bread. Most of the general population either doesn’t know or simply doesn’t care, but there are differences nonetheless.
Basically though, French bread only uses flour, yeast, salt, and water. In fact, French law states that added oils or fats are prohibited. A French loaf is usually long and thin, while an Italian loaf is shorter and wider.
Expert Tips & FAQs
In this section I like to provide tips and recommendations about the different ingredients used. I also try to answer questions about substitutions. You will find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- You can use the packets of active dry yeast available at any grocery store. I bake a lot of bread, so I prefer to by SAF instant yeast in larger packages.
- When a bread recipe calls for warm water, the temperature should be around 110 degrees F. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast, and too cold will delay the rise process.
- Use regular white granulated sugar for this recipe.
- You’ll also use hot water in this recipe, but since you are mixing it with other ingredients before adding the yeast mixture it will be fine. You want hot tap water, not boiling water.
- Regular everyday table salt is used, not Kosher or sea salt.
- This recipe calls for vegetable oil, but olive oil can also be used.
- We are using all-purpose flour, white not wheat, to make this bread.
Helpful kitchen tools:
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Baking sheets
- Wire cooling rack
- Pastry brush
- Rolling pin
- Bread knife
How to Make Italian Bread
- Dissolve yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine 2 cups hot water, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, salt, and oil. Add 3 cups of flour to the mixture in this large bowl/mixer and mix well.
- Stir in yeast mixture.
- Add 2 – 3 cups more flour and mix until well blended. (At this point your dough will still be quite sticky).
- Leave in bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. (If using a mixer, remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it with a towel. Otherwise your paddle attachment or dough hook will get covered in dough when it rises).
- Divide dough into 2 (or 3 if you want smaller loaves) pieces.
- Roll out each piece on a floured surface into the length desired then roll up length wise like a jelly roll.
- Put on a greased cookie sheet, sealed side down, and tuck the ends under. Slash the top diagonally across the top every couple of inches with a sharp knife.
- Cover and let loaves rise 30 more minutes.
- While loaves are rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Whisk the egg white and brush over the top of loaves.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
How to Enjoy this Italian Bread
There are plenty of dinners that we like to eat this homemade bread with, and they aren’t all Italian meals! I’ve been known to sop up the juices of my favorite pork sirloin roast using a hunk of this bread.
A big bowl of Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup or my Cheddar Cheese Potato Soup screams for a piece of warm, buttered bread. It’s also amazing with this Zuppa Toscana for those Olive Garden fans out there! Another dinnertime favorite is this Chicken Cacciatore, and it’s great to have a hunk of bread for dipping into the sauce.
Need more ideas? Find all my dinner recipes here!
What Our Readers Are Saying
Never baked bread before? Want to make sure before you invest the time and ingredients? Here’s just a small sampling of what our readers are saying about this recipe! You can find more reviews in the comments down below!
“I have made this twice and it is very tasty, good crust and soft inner not dense , very good flavor, I have been baking bread for 40 years, this is in the top five, Thanks.” ~ Thomas
“By far one of the best and easiest bread recipes I have come across!! Dough comes out perfect and is so easy to roll!! So glad I came across this recipe it’s a game changer.” ~ Tracy
“This bread was so, so delicious! I am proud of myself for going through with it. I was scared to do it and usually need video ( visual learner ) but went ahead and one of the two loaves is already gone! I wish I could attach a pic! I will make this over and over!” ~ Desiree
“I never post reviews… but after making this, I had to!!! I only had bread flour, so used that… but that was the only deviation. I followed the recipe exactly. The bread came out PERFECT! Crispy outside and moist inside. This is some of the best bread I’ve ever made. It will definitely be made again. Thank you!!” ~ Terri
“‘This is a million times better than store bought bread’
‘You have to make this every time we have pasta now’
‘Nom nom nom…’Feedback from my family after serving them this bread for dinner. Excellent recipe!” ~Dave
“OMG! I made this bread today and have to say this is the BEST bread I have ever made, and I’ve tried a lot of recipes! It was very light and fluffy yet just crispy enough on the crust. The only changes I made were I used bread flour and only used 2.5 tablespoons of the sugar instead of three. Thank you for sharing this! I am throwing away all my other bread recipes!” ~ Nadine
Homemade Italian Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast 2 packets
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups hot water hot to the touch, not boiling
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 5-6 cups all-purpose flour add more if needed to get to a pliable dough
- 1 large egg white for brushing on loaves
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine 2 cups hot water, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, salt, and oil. Add 3 cups of flour to the mixture in this large bowl/mixer and mix well. Stir in yeast mixture.
- Add 2 – 3 cups more flour and mix until well blended. (At this point your dough will still be quite sticky). Leave in bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. (If using a mixer, remove the bowl from the mixer and cover. Otherwise your paddle attachment or dough hook will get covered in dough when it rises).
- Divide dough into 2 (or 3 if you want smaller loaves) pieces. Roll out each piece on a floured surface into the length desired then roll up lengthwise like a jelly roll.
- Put on a greased cookie sheet, sealed side down, and tuck the ends under. Slash the top diagonally across the top every couple of inches with a sharp knife.
- Cover and let loaves rise 30 more minutes.
- While loaves are rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Whisk the egg white and brush over the top of loaves.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
Video
Expert Tips & FAQs
- If your dough is still super sticky, you can add small amounts of flour until the dough just comes together.
- You can use the packets of active dry yeast available at any grocery store. I bake a lot of bread, so I prefer to by SAF instant yeast in larger packages.
- When a bread recipe calls for warm water, the temperature should be around 110 degrees F. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast, and too cold will delay the rise process.
- Use regular white granulated sugar for this recipe.
- In a separate step, you'll also use hot water in this recipe. Since you are mixing it with other ingredients before adding the yeast mixture it will be fine. You want hot tap water, not boiling water.
- Regular everyday table salt is used, not Kosher or sea salt.
- This recipe calls for vegetable oil, but olive oil can also be used.
- We are using all-purpose flour, white not wheat, to make this bread.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published here on January 28, 2009
Amanda Formaro
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Darlene says
Making it for the first time.
Followed your instructions, I am on second rise.
I did cut slits in top of dough, egg washed and letting it rise for 30 minutes more.
I will let you know how it turned out once baked.
Thank you…
Kathie king says
Hello, trying this for the first time. May I freeze half the dough to bake later?
Amanda Formaro says
You would have to par-bake the loaf. Freezing straight bread dough doesn’t usually work well.
Mary lou McKinney says
This recipe was delicious. We loved it and the best part…you don’t have to knead it. Win-Win.
Thanks Amanda
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you guys enjoyed it!
William says
I have been avoiding buying bread at the stores these days as I want to leave them for the elderly and such.. so, I have been making my own bread. I just tried your recipe and I like it. I dusted the top with onion soups mix for flavor and it was delicious!!
Amanda Formaro says
Love the addition, sounds delish!
Angie says
Can this be put into a bread machine to make? (Usually you just dump ingredients wet to dry then hit the button).
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Angie! I haven’t myself, but I would refer you to this article to help you with that :) https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2018/04/30/how-to-convert-recipes-to-a-bread-machine
Marianne says
im in the middle of making this bread. I’m noticing the yeast mixture has not bubbled (it actually looks smooth) am I doing something wrong?
Amanda Formaro says
How did it go? Usually if yeast doesn’t bubble it’s because of a few scenarios: it was stirred, the water was too hot and killed the yeast, the water was too cold and slowed the yeast growth, sugar wasn’t added, or the yeast is expired.
Shery Sullivan says
Could I use self rising flour?
Amanda Formaro says
Self-rising flour is a type of flour that has salt and chemical leavening, baking powder, already added into it. Self-rising flour can be used to make a type of bread called a “quick bread” but it cannot be used as a substitute for yeast in a traditional yeast bread. Yeast functions very differently than baking powder. (excerpted from bakerbettie.com)
John Minarik says
This is the worst bread recipe I have ever made. The dough is way too wet to work with. The instructions are worthless. I am angry at myself for wasting my ingredients on this horribly bad bread recipe.
Amanda Formaro says
I’m so sorry you had trouble! You didn’t have to toss it, you can add more flour until it reaches the right consistency.
Mikel says
You obviously did something wrong. I have made this numerous times and gotten perfect bread. I even got adventurous and spread butter and sprinkled cheese on it before rolling it up. Yummy!
Anne Temple says
I agree with Amanda. Bread making has MANY variables, humidity in the air, moisture in the flour, etc. That is why the recipe says: 5-6 cups all-purpose flour add more if needed to get to a pliable dough. And if for some reason that doesn’t do, add a little more. I have been making bread every week for years, and it amazes me the difference between the loaves. Even the seasons and the barometric pressure could have something to do with it. You just need to try it again, and don’t give up and most of all, be flexible!
Joe Palooka says
I agree with Joe Minarik review above. Angry with myself for time and trouble making it. Wanted it for spaghetti dinner . Dipping it in the sauce was a pasty, non-italian bread dip.
Amanda Formaro says
Sorry you weren’t happy with it. We love it here!
Donna says
Hi Amanda,
Could you please tell me the correct amount of water to use for this recipe? Is it 1/2 cup for the yeast mixture and 11/2 cups or two cups for the hot water mixture? Also, did you use both a whisk attachment and a dough hook to make your dough? Thank you – looking forward to making this bread.
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Donna. The yeast mixture uses the warm water (1/2 cup) and the next step uses the hot water (2 cups). I actually just made this bread again last Sunday and I only used the paddle attachment. :)
Jennifer says
I’m getting ready to make this bread. It says it takes 3 days + to make. I don’t see that anywhere in the instructions. What am I missing?
Amanda Formaro says
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for pointing that out! I’ve corrected the recipe card.
Melissa M says
This is the best bread ever. So easy to make. I added some everything bagel seasoning to it and wow! I made 2 loaves yesterday and had to make 2 more today, and that is already 1/2 gone. My new staple bread recipe. Thank you.
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you loved it, thank you! And I love the idea of the everything bagel seasoning!
Lauren says
I used the measurement scale to just make 16 slices but the written out instructions don’t change. I almost had very sugary dough haha I realized it before I mixed anything though. So excited to see how it comes out!
Amanda Formaro says
Oh my gosh, yes, only the ingredient levels change!
Deb says
I’m making it now, on the second rise will let you know how it turns out!
Amanda Formaro says
How was it Deb?
Dave says
Used this recipe today and it turned out wonderful. This will be my Italian brean recipe from now on. Thanks!
Amanda says
Awesome Dave! I love that bread :)
Kerry Schell says
This bread was SO easy to make and came out perfect every time!!!
Thanks
Brett says
looks perfect! i’ve been wanting a good italian bread recipe. i am going to try this today!
Val says
I made this recipe 3 times today. Added bunch of other ingredients in it: one kid added dried onions , crispy bacon and lots of ground pepper. My husband green olives, roasted red bell peppers, dried kale, dried tomtoes and dried onions….me I added everyting I love including cheese… ohhh to die for ! EASY , QUICK bread recipe, and so versatile !!! Thanks !!!
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you so much Val, I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!!