Contributed by Rachel & Brendan

We love this bread “as is” as a side, or even better, for paninis with fresh Wisconsin Brick Cheese, pesto-mayo & tomato!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Place ingredients into the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle & Start. (See Editor’s Note for stand mixer instructions.)

Dough will be quite sticky & wet once cycle is completed; resist the temptation to add more flour. Place dough on a generously floured board, cover with a large bowl or greased plastic wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.

Lightly flour baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Using a serrated knife, divide dough into 2 pieces, form each into a 3 x 14-inch oval. Place loaves on prepared sheets & dust lightly with flour. Cover, let rise in a draft-free place for approximately 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Spritz loaves with water. Place loaves in the oven, positioned on the middle rack. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Editor’s Note: To make this recipe in a stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed using the dough hook, scraping the dough down occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add olive oil & mix for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured board, proceed with the recipe instructions.

Riely Note:  We don’t typically split the loaf but prefer to keep it simple by just pouring the dough from the bread machine pan directly onto a prepared pan (baking sheet with a Silpat) & baking it as one large loaf.