Making bread can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! I don’t have a stand mixer, and I don’t let that deter me from making fantastic bread—I just use my hands or a metal spoon to stir. Kids love getting their hands dirty helping with the kneading as well. This recipe is great for beginners, and also makes for a fantastic pizza crust!
1 cup warm water (110 degrees) 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. active dry yeast 1/2 cup bread flour + extra for kneading
2 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped 2 tbsp. cornmeal
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning 1 egg + 1 tbsp. water, whisked
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper 1 tbsp. fresh rosemary for sprinkling
In a small bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add flours, rosemary, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Mix on stir to combine. Add in the yeast, water, and olive oil and mix until dough starts to form and starts to pull away from the bowl.
Knead for 5 minutes with the dough hook. If it feels too sticky, add a bit of flour to it, a tablespoon at a time. Once it’s been kneaded, place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and place in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise for 1 hour.
After dough has risen and doubled in size, punch it down and form it into a round loaf or if you want to make pizza dough divide into at least 2 equally sized balls. Dust counter top surface with cornmeal and place loaf on top. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
In the meantime, put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
For bread, once the dough has risen, brush the top of it with the egg wash mixture then sprinkle rosemary on top. Carefully slide the dough onto the pizza stone (it should slide off very easily with the cornmeal underneath it) and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is nicely browned and there’s a hollow sound when tapped.
Let cool slightly before slicing and dipping in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Store in an airtight container.
If you are making pizza flatten out the dough ball and gently spread and stretch the dough into the desired size then top with your favorite ingredients and bake for 12-15 minutes.
