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.
- 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.
- 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.
You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. If kept in the fridge, the yeast will continue to grow, even if it’s slowly. This can be done for about a day, but I wouldn’t do it much longer than that. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and store in freezer bags. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and thaw at room temperature. It will take about 4 hours to thaw. Then bake according to the recipe.
Helpful kitchen tools:
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Baking sheets
- Wire cooling rack
- Pastry brush
- Rolling pin
- Bread knife
Bread Machine instructions are at the end!
How to Make Italian Bread
- Dissolve yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar in a small bowl.
A NOTE ABOUT YEAST: You can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast. If you use active dry yeast it needs to be proofed in order for it to be reactivated. Instant dry yeast doesn’t need proofing. Active dry yeast must be reactivated by proofing in warm water, or the bread won’t rise properly. This process is to “prove” that the yeast is still alive.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine 2 cups hot water, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, the salt, and the 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.
NOTE: This dough does not require kneading.
- 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 Make Italian Bread in a Bread Machine
Several people have asked if this Italian bread can be prepared in a bread machine. We were able to test it successfully and have provided the instructions below. Please note, the preparation of the dough is in the bread machine, but you will still remove the dough, form a loaf, and bake it in your conventional oven.
- Using the printable recipe below, cut the ingredients in half, and eliminate the water and sugar step used for proofing the yeast.
- Put 1 cup of water (110 F) and 1/4 cup oil in the bread machine bucket (make sure the paddle is on).
- Add 4 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
- Gently add 3 cups flour over the water mixture so that it is all covered.
- Place 2 1/4 teaspoons (one packet) of yeast on top of flour with nothing else touching it.
- Place bucket in bread machine and enter dough cycle.
- When it beeps, take out and roll dough, adding more flour if needed.
- Roll up (follow instructions in printable recipe for forming loaf) and place on baking sheet, add slashes to top, and cover with towel to let rise (again, according to recipe).
- Brush with egg white and bake at 400 F (see recipe instructions below).
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.
Try our new Crockpot Lasagna, it would be perfect with this bread!
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
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Pin It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast 2 packets
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups hot water hot to the touch, not boiling
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ 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
Before You Begin
- 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. If you use active dry, just follow the instructions in the recipe and let it sit for a few minutes to proof (it will get a little foamy).
- 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.
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, the salt, and the 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). NO KNEADING IS REQUIRED.
- After the rise, if the dough is too sticky to handle, add more flour until its workable. For some people this can be up to a cup or more! Just don't dry out the dough. Add by quarter cupfuls until its workable.
- 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. If it's still too sticky, add more flour until it's workable but not dry.
- 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.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published here on January 28, 2009
Amanda Davis
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Paula says
Loved this bread! Today will be my 2nd time following this recipe. :D.
This is the only fresh bread I’ve made that sat on the counter yet stayed soft and delicious for more than 2ish days.
Oh! For anyone out there that’s using kosher salt (I used Diamond Salt), don’t forget to convert your salt amount since she says she used regular table salt. I used around 2 tablespoons of Diamond salt to equal the 1 tbsp table salt in the recipe. You need more kosher salt due to the difference in size/shape & density of the individual salt pieces. So weird how that works!
Also, since I don’t like to use hot water from my tap for cooking, I heated cold tap water to around 135 degrees for the step 2, the step where you add 2 cups hot water to the flour.
Hope these two tidbits help someone out there! Thanks again for the great recipe, Amanda.
Emilia says
I’m trying to get this recipe but your website is horrible. Loads very slow and crashes continuously. You have too many adds and pop ups. I simply can’t use it so I’ll go and search for something else.. Even now when I type this comment I have to wait for each word to be written. You wd have more visitors spending more time on your site if it wd be easier and faster to browse. I thought you wd like to know
Amanda Davis says
Sorry you had trouble, but sounds like that was your device not our site. It’s true that the first visit to a website will result in more than usual ads appearing, however we’ve speed checked our site and everything is fine. We get tens of thousands of visitors everyday and haven’t had any issues that you are talking about. Hope you find what you’re looking for, and thanks for reporting your issues.
Jimmy Wachter says
I’m making the bread right now 10/29 10:30EST and I’m not having any issues at all
Becky says
I had issues that same day as well! I kept getting multiple error messages. I even got my mom and sister both to check from their devices and they had errors too. I did eventually get it to load after a couple of hours but there was something glitchy going on for a while.
Amanda Davis says
Yes we had an outage that lasted several hours, but it’s all good now :)
Laurie Guertin says
This is the best by far of any Italian bread recipe that I have ever made and so easy. My kids and grandkids are loving it! I will definitely be making this again, thank you for sharing!
Rebeka says
Just made this for the 1st time. So easy and delicious, soft! Only had time for a 20 minute rise after the shaping and was perfect.
Caroline says
Perfect recipe. I had a hard time knowing how much flour to put in to get the right consistency. It was a bit hard as I was guessing and trying to match the picture. With that, I think it’s pretty hard to mess up the recipe as I’m sure mine wasn’t perfect but turned out amazing. 10/10.
Laura says
I’ve baked bread for 50 years and have never read about this method. I thought I’d give it a try and, what can I say? The method worked with perfection. The dough was delightful to work with and the bread was a hit amongst my kids and grandkids! (I also enjoyed reading the little tidbit about the difference between French bread and Italian bread. You see, I cared. If you missed it, go back and read it. You’ll be glad you did.)
Abby says
I make this weekly. So delicious!!
Corinne says
Outstanding bread and a family favourite! Works out perfectly every time!
Gabe J says
This bread is fantastic. Have made it twice now(used half all purpose flour and half bread flour). It comes together easily and is a perfect soft springy interior. I like a crispier crust so the first time I used a cast iron pan with water in the oven to create kind of steam oven. The second time I forgot but it was still delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Ryan says
I rarely reply to recipes. This recipe however deserves it. A perfect loaf of bread. Could make French Toast, Garlic Bread, Croutons, Dressing or a sandwich. I wouldn’t change a thing! Delicious
Kim says
I just finished forming these loaves and I have no idea what is happening. I am meticulous with measurements. I use a scale, set to grams, that has been calibrated just before beginning. This dough is extremely hydrated if prepared by the measurements listed. There is no chance anyone could handle it without adding additional flour.
I added all the flour in the recipe, all of the additional cup suggested for handling, plus another 2 cups, at least. The dough is still sticky but workable. I see several other reviews saying the same thing. My suspicion is that the people who aren’t having this issue either live in extremely dry climates (think Arizona) or both they and the author are measuring flour by scooping it from the container with the measuring cup, thereby packing the flour and using up to twice what the recipe says without realizing it.
I even let my mixer run with the additional flour for about 10 minutes (sometimes dough firms up as it is worked because moving the dough helps develop and distribute gluten) and it was still sticky. I ended up folding it multiple times by hand and then using flour covered hands to move it to the pans.
Hopefully it tastes good, but I’ll either have to augment this recipe by using double the flour or look for another.
Amanda Davis says
You said “I use a scale, set to grams, that has been calibrated just before beginning.” I don’t give any measurements in metric, so that could be your issue.
Jaime says
You listen here, and listen good. This is the BEST, EASIEST MOST DELICIOUS BREAD I have EVER made. Well done with this one. I wish I could give it more than five stars. This bread is everything. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I’m preparing some sausage and peppers to make sandwiches on this bread.
Harold Rail says
very nice results, thank you.
Irene Smith-Rice says
Because I’m basically lazy I’ve been buying Costco bread loaves for years. Without warning they have discontinued selling it and my husband and I were desperate to find a recipe that is similar to their loaves. Your recipe is it. Not to mention it is the easiest recipe to put together, Eureka!!. Thanks so much for sharing.. you have a winner here.
Seni says
Hey Amanda , this is my go to recipe since I found out about it in 2020. Best bread in my book! Thank you so much for sharing!
Amanda Davis says
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoy it as much as we do!
Mariana Klemm says
I made this bread–at least attempted to. This was extremely hydrated dough–ended up adding all the flour in the recipe plus at least a cup more in order to be able to handle the dough. It was still very sticky after the first rise (sometimes dough becomes less sticky after the first rise) so I had to knead in even more flour. Finally able to work the dough, formed the loafs which in turn flattened out badly in the second rise. My husband called it Manatee bread. BUT…it did tast just fine. Not too much flour. Just seems the 2 cups of water in the recipe is a bit much. Will try again in the future.
Amanda Davis says
I’m sorry you had a negative experience with our recipe. We have tested this recipe rigorously, multiple times, as have hundreds of our readers. Not sure where yu may have gone wrong, but I’ve never had a problem.
Brent says
Hi Amanda, thanks for the recipe, I will try soon. I bake bread machine, and free form pizza crust, water yeast and standard el cheapo flour. I had a problem with the water and flour ratio, everything started being too moist and I was adding a whole cup more of flour depending on the size of the batch.
I ended up only adding 3/4 water and then incrementally until proper mix. The two things that changed in my household were the Summer heat and the dehumidifier started running. I going to find out soon if the water amount goes back to normal as Winter kicks in.
Danielle says
I can’t wait to try this recipe. New at the yeast usage though. If I use instant yeast, do I still need to use the warm water and sugar?
Amanda Davis says
You don’t HAVE to but I always do anyway :)
Amy Fondren says
I’m curious where the author of the recipe is located as I had to add 2+ extra cups of flour to make it workable.
Amanda Davis says
I am in the Midwest
Thaddeus says
I’ve never had results this good before making Italian bread. Great recipe!
Beth says
Have made this several times! It is so simple and fail proof!
Pam says
My family absolutely loves this bread! I am now making it twice a week. Ifreeze one loaf after it is made and in about 3 days I have to take it out to use.
PJ says
My first try came out well but a little dense. my second try much better. More flour and more bake time. I would still like it to be a bit more airy. Maybe I jostled the pan and it fell a bit before it went into the oven? I just added flour so it didn’t stick to my hands while shaping. Great recipe! Family eats it all soon after it comes out of the oven.