Italian Bread

I adapted this recipe from a site I found the other day here and boy am I glad I did. This bread is wonderful. It's the kind that you want to eat the whole loaf.
I served this with the new Chicken Parmesan recipe I saw on "Best Thing I ever Ate" It was something Emeril had in NYC. I'll post that soon.

Printable
Ingredients:
2 Pkgs rapid rise or instant yeast
1 3/4 cup warm water 115-125
2 TBL sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/4 - 4 3/4 cups flour *I used 2 cups bread flour 2 1/2 cups ap flour*
2 TBL vegetable oil
In the large bowl of mixer, place yeast, sugar, salt and two cups of flour. (I used 1 cup AP flour 1 cup bread flour) Mix to blend and add the 130 degree F water and oil. Mix on medium speed with regular beater for 3 minutes. Insert dough hook and beat for another 6:30 minutes, adding flour as needed to keep dough from being sticky.
Place dough on a floured board, cover with a cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes. Punch down dough and form into two long narrow loaves. Place loaves on a greased pan or parchment lined, cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Before placing loaves in oven, brush tops with egg whites and sprinkle sesame seeds on top . Cut three to five slashes in the top with a serrated knife. Place loaves in oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Hope you take the time to try this bread you won't be sorry. Also thanks for taking time to stop by. Remember to find the time to do ALL the things YOU love.
Donna