Rustic Italian Crusty Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to crispy crust bread? ›

LET BREAD COOL IN OVEN

Keep the oven door slightly open. That last step will add more crispiness to the surface because as bread cools the moisture released from the inside will dry immediately due to the warm air in the oven.

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.

Bread right out of the oven produces a lot of heat and steam. When the hot air hits the cold air, the water vapor condenses, or “sweats.” If you cover your bread with a towel or bowl, you can trap that water in your bread, resulting in a softer crust.

A baking steel helps the underside of your pizza brown and crisp to perfection. The recommended option is a baking steel, which most home pizza bakers prefer. A baking steel has significant thermal mass, plus it excels in an extra category: thermal conductivity.

Large crusty loaves can be stored unwrapped (to preserve their crispy crust) at room temperature for a day or so, cut side down on the counter. For optimum long-term storage (longer than a couple of days), wrap bread in single-day portions and freeze.

In the region of Basilicata lies the crusty loaves that are considered to be the best bread in Italy: Matera bread, also known as "Pane di Matera". Matera bread is so good that it carries the IGP trademark, which means it can only be made in Matera.

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.

In Italian, the end of the bread is called the "la crosta." This term refers to the crusty outer portion of the bread, which is often slightly thicker and more textured than the rest of the loaf. In Italian cuisine, the crosta is highly valued for its rich, toasty flavor and satisfying crunch.

A “tight crumb” aka small holes in the interior of your bread can be the result of different factors: under-fermenting, over-fermenting, and a lack of gluten development. The most confounding part of sourdough bread baking is that the rise times of recipes are just a suggestion or range.

What is rustic bread made of? ›

Mix water, yeast, and salt together in a large bowl. Let stand until mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir flour into yeast mixture until well incorporated; the dough will be loose and look wet. Cover bowl loosely with a damp towel and let sit for about 5 hours.

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).

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.

The more the yeast grows, the more gas forms in the dough. The more gas in the dough the fluffier the finished product will be. Now that you know the yeast is the rising (leavening) agent in the bread dough.

The humidity level in the oven will determine the crust texture. The more humidity, the more crispy the crust (which is why basting the bread with water prior to baking makes it more crispy - it raises the humidity level in the oven).

In-home ovens do not get as hot as the ovens at pizza restaurants, and the stone or steel underneath the crust while baking helps make the best use of temperature. Always bake your pizza pie on the lowest rack in the oven. This allows your pizza crust to get closer to the heat source, allowing it to become more crispy.

At its most basic level, the Maillard reaction is quite simple. When our food is heated to a temperature of at least 280°F, a chemical reaction occurs between amino acids (proteins) and carbohydrates (sugars) that causes it to brown. So essentially: protein + sugar + heat = browning.