Italian Bread Dough

By RoketJSquerl

You know that Italian bread you get at the supermarket, the crunchy braid loaded with sesame seeds? The recipe below will create that loaf.

Ingredients

• Overnight Starter:
• 3/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
• Dough:
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• Topping:
• 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• sesame seeds

Preparation

Step 1

The Starter: Mix the starter ingredients in a small bowl, cover, and let rest at room temperature overnight.

Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients, including the starter, into the pan of your machine, program the machine for manual or dough, and press Start. When the cycle is finished, remove the dough, deflate it gently, and let it rest, covered, for 30 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into three pieces. Roll each piece into an 18-inch rope. Braid the ropes (tucking the ends under), set the braid on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise it rise for about 60 to 90 minutes, or till it's very puffy.

Brush the braid with the egg white glaze. Sprinkle it heavily with sesame seeds. Bake the bread in a preheated 425°F oven for 25 to 35 minutes; the longer it bakes, the crunchier it'll be. Remove it from the oven and cool it on a wire rack (or cool it in the turned-off, door-propped open oven). Yield: 1 loaf.