How to make Italian bread (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.

Grano duro is slightly yellow, more granular, and more commonly used for pasta and some breads in the south of Italy. It's also knows as durum wheat flour. Grano tenero is generally what we think of as white flour, and is more broadly used in bread, pizza, and pastry, and northern pasta doughs.

Italian Bread Basics

The inside is moist, thick, and very absorbent, perfect for soaking up soup, sauces, and oils. Italian bread tends to be an elongated oval shape, not too thin and not too thick. Unlike French bread, which tends to be sweet, Italian bread often has a savory taste that adds to its versatility.

Italian bread is low in fat.

This makes it a healthier option for those watching their fat intake.

French bread tends to be hard and crusty on the outside, with a light and soft crumb. Italian bread can also have a hard crust, but the crumb tends to be denser.

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.

Enriched Wheat Flour, Filtered Water, Whole Wheat Flour, Oat Hull Fibre, Yeast*, Vital Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt, Cultured Wheat Starch, Citric Acid, Vinegar, Sunflower Lecithin.

Type 00 Flour (sometimes called Doppio Zero)

Type 00 flour is the quintessential Italian flour synonymous with quality. It's extra refined, very soft, and stark white in color because it contains none of the wheat bran. Despite its popularity, type 00 flour isn't fit for all baking.

It has yeast, water, oil and flour. But no salt. Without it, the bread has no flavour, but it also has a lighter crust and chewier texture. The reigning theory is that salt was taxed too heavily in medieval Florence, so bakers left it out.

Focaccia

Its origins date back to ancient Rome when it was known as "panis focacius". The word "focaccia" comes from the Latin "focus," meaning "hearth" or "fireplace," which is where the bread was traditionally baked.

Why is bread in Italy different? ›

Every region within Italy has its own version of every kind of bread, due to available ingredients, variants in the cooking process, and cultural customs., however, in the end no matter how different they might seem, they are all Italian breads and helped make Italy's the countries culinary prowess what it is today.

Other sweet options include maritozzi, the famous Italian sweet bread often found in Rome, or biscotti to go with your coffee. A healthy Italian breakfast might consist of some bread, butter, jam, some yogurt, and fruit. Italians also eat muesli and cereal in the mornings with yogurt or milk.

Italians don't slather their bread with butter, nor dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They enjoy it with a light drizzle of olive oil or plain. Resist the urge to dip or ask for butter.

Sourdough bread is healthier than Italian bread. Like the other bread types touched on thus far, Italian bread is made using commercial yeast. Since Italian bread does not traditionally use wild yeast that ferments slowly, Italian bread does not have the enhanced nutritional content that sourdough bread has.

Both are white breads, both are simple, and both are delicious! One basic difference is that traditional French bread (like a baguette), does not contain any fat, and oftentimes doesn't contain sugar. Italian bread on the other hand, almost always has vegetable or olive oil in the list of ingredients.

The biggest difference between American breads versus European breads is the quality of the ingredients used in each bread. Standard, store-bought American bread contains many preservatives and fillers that are banned in European countries.

It has yeast, water, oil and flour. But no salt. Without it, the bread has no flavour, but it also has a lighter crust and chewier texture. The reigning theory is that salt was taxed too heavily in medieval Florence, so bakers left it out.