Italian Food Recipe for Recipe Lovers Italian Food Recipe : Italian Country Loaf Learn to cook this Italian Country Loaf and a multitude of other Italian Cuisine Recipes with the online information provided by indianrecipes.com and enjoy the flavour of wonderful italian recipes! Ingredients: Active Dry Yeast Half and Half Honey, Maple Syrup, or Malt Syrup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour Sponge 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 1/2 cup lukewarm water (90º - 100º) 1/2 cup half and half 1 heaping teaspoon honey, maple syrup, or malt syrup 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour Dough 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 2 cups water at room temperature 1 tablespoon salt About 5 - 51/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour Method : To Prepare the Sponge In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over warm water and half and half. Add the honey or syrup and flour. Beat with a whisk until the mixture blends. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours to overnight. This sponge can be stored up to 1 week refrigerated. 1. Add the yeast, water, salt, and 1 cup of the flour to the sponge. Beat hard with a whisk for 3 minutes. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time. The dough will become smooth and begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl. 2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead vigorously until very elastic, yet still moist and tacky, about 5 minutes. This is very important to achieve a good, light texture. Slam the dough hard against the work surface to develop the gluten. Set aside and allow to rest, covered for about 5-10 minutes. Knead one last time, very briefly, and you will have a nice smooth round ball without adding any additional flour. 3. Place in an ungreased container, large enough to allow the dough to triple in size. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 3 hours to overnight. 4. Remove the dough from the container. Knead lightly into 1 large or 2 small loaves. Dust lightly with flour and let rise uncovered at room temperature until soft and springy, about 1 to 3 hours. 5. Preheat oven to 400º. This bread also does well on a baking stone. Slash a design into the top of the loaves (about 1/4"), using a serrated knife. Place in oven and bake until the bread is very dark and crusty, about 60 minutes or less. Cool on a rack and reheat before serving. This will provide a great loaf of bread, crusty on the outside and very light and moist on the inside. Helpful Hint: As you preheat the oven, place an old cookie sheet on the "floor" or bottom shelf of the oven and fill with water. The moisture will help create a great crust!