Rustic Italian Crusty Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of crusty bread? ›

To make crusty bread, create steam in the oven.

They have a professional secret: the steam-injected oven. Nothing offers the baker quite as nice a crust as an oven filled with steam for the first part of the baking process.

Ciabatta

The name Ciabatta literally translates into English as 'slipper' with the fairly flat shape, looking similar to the cosy type of footwear. Although its origins are unclear, the unique porous centre and crispy crust, make the perfect partner to Italian classics and dishes with a lot of sauce.

Although a little vague like artisan bread, the general consensus is that rustic bread is not shaped with a pan and it is only made with simple ingredients such as just flour, water, salt, and yeast (or starter). Rustic bread is usually baked at a higher temperature which results in a thicker crust.

Italian bread often contains a bit of milk or olive oil, and sometimes a bit of sugar. French bread tends to be longer and narrower. Italian bread loaves tend to be shorter and plumper. French bread tends to be hard and crusty on the outside, with a light and soft crumb.

Cloth, being breathable, retains less moisture; the disappointment is that this doesn't translate into a crispy crust, but rather a hard one. So if you want to store bread for a day or so at room temperature, plastic or foil (rather than cloth) is the way to go.

Perhaps the most well-known and popular Italian bread, ciabatta is a slipper-shaped bread. It has a unique, almost plasticity, texture, which makes it possible to do practically anything with this bread.

Ciabatta. Ciabatta is a rustic Italian loaf that's filled with tons of irregularly-shaped air pockets. It's super crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside, making it an ideal choice for making sandwiches. You can buy it of course, but consider learning how to make ciabatta bread from scratch.

It may be controversial — in fact, we know it is — but many Italians believe the best bread comes from the region of Puglia. The town of Altamura in Southeast Italy is known for its traditional large knots of bread called Pane di Altamura.

The usual reason why bread becomes too dense is due to using flour with low protein content. When your loaf is spongy and heavy, you might have also put too much flour into it or made the dough in a cooler or too warm setting.

Nutrient Powerhouse: Artisanal breads often utilize whole grains and organic flours, rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. This is in stark contrast to refined white flour, stripped of much of its nutritional value. A Happy Gut: Sourdough bread is a natural source of beneficial bacteria (probiotics).

What is rustic bread made of? ›

No special equipment or kneading is required to make this oil-free rustic bread. All you need is four simple ingredients: all-purpose flour, active dry yeast, salt and water.

If you've made my favorite white bread recipe, you may remember that I opt for all-purpose flour because it produces a super light and fluffy bread. In contrast, we want to use bread flour for this Italian bread due to its higher protein content, which will create a bread that is chewier in texture and a bit denser.

Italian bread tends to include olive oil, herbs, and milk that add to its distinctive taste and texture.

Focaccia is a flat Italian bread flavoured with olive oil.

Bake at Lower Temperatures

This technique gives the bread a flaky, slightly crisp crust. But if you want a melt-in-your-mouth soft crust, you need a much lower temperature for a longer period.