This simple Italian cheese bread is unimaginable! The straightforward dough is blended by hand, and the baked bread is tacky and stuffed with aptitude and taste!

Okay, you guys, cease what you might be doing proper this minute, and make this bread! Critically. It will likely be one of the best determination you’ve made all week.

It’s by far among the most scrumptious bread I’ve ever eaten!

Bread Dough Combined by Hand

The dough for this award-successful Italian cheese bread is blended collectively by hand. No stand mixer wanted!

As you combine, the dough will come collectively in a shaggy mess. That is after I ditch the blending utensil, flippantly grease my palms, and dive in to combine and flippantly knead the dough for a couple of minutes till it types a tough ball form.

Attempt to not add further flour except completely mandatory. The tender dough is what ensures the bread will bake up completely fluffy (you might even get a few of these cute little artisanal air pockets if you happen to’re fortunate!).

Assembling the Cheese Bread:

As soon as the dough has risen, it’s time to make the deliciousness occur.

1. press the dough onto a flippantly greased half sheet pan about 1/4- to half of-inch thick (it received’t cowl the whole backside of the pan – simply get it right into a tough oval form)
2. brush the highest with Italian salad dressing (numerous notes within the recipe about retailer purchased vs home made; spoiler alert: both will work!)
3. sprinkle with a easy combination of pantry-prepared dried herbs
4. cowl with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

You already understand how mentally allergic I’m to something associated to soggy bread dough – I promise the salad dressing doesn’t make the dough soggy! As an alternative it provides essentially the most unimaginable layer of taste and helps the cheese adhere to the highest of the dough.

Wonderful Italian Cheese Bread

Bake the bread till the crust is golden and that cheese is a’sizzlin.

The aroma emanating out of your oven is probably going nothing you’ve ever skilled. All of my children talked about how wonderful it smelled after they walked in the home the primary time I made this bread. (And that’s saying quite a bit, as a result of my household is used to the home smelling like meals, for higher or for worse. 😉)

I’ve made this bread again and again since then. It’s truthfully among the most gorgeous home made bread ever. And it’s so simple!

I’m so grateful that Sarah M (a loyal MKC reader for nearly 20 years!) despatched me this recipe. She’s been making this bread for over a decade and even received Grand Champion for it at her native truthful!

I can by no means go away nicely sufficient alone, so I tailored the recipe to work a bit higher for dwelling cooks who could not personal a pizza pan, and adjusted the portions of the bread and toppings to raised swimsuit my carb-loving coronary heart.

Final week, I packed up slices of this bread and took it to my son’s highschool tennis match considering it will make a easy dinner for me and Brian whereas we watched (sure, the entire loaf 👀😜). We by no means even received a single slice after my son, adopted by a hoard of his ravenous teammates, spied it, devoured it, and begged me to carry it once more.

I can’t wait so that you can make this bread! It will be good for therefore many alternative events and meals. Or, simply since you want Italian cheese bread in your life.

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Easy Italian Cheese Bread

Yield: 16 servings (1 loaf)

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time: 15 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes minutes

Dough:

• 3 cups (426 g) all-function flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon on the spot yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¼ cups heat water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the pan

Toppings:

• ⅓ cup bottled Italian salad dressing (see observe)
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pinch dried thyme
• 1 cup (113 g) shredded mozzarella cheese (see observe)
• ¼ cup (28 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (see observe)

Prepare dinner ModeForestall your display from going darkish

• In a big bowl, stir collectively the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the water and the two tablespoons olive oil and blend till the dough begins to return collectively in a shaggy ball.

• Evenly grease your palms and proceed mixing the dough, folding it over on itself and kneading it flippantly (urgent it with the heel of your hand) 5 to six instances, till the dough has shaped a tough ball form.

• Cowl the bowl and let the dough rise till noticeably puffy, 30 to 60 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 450 levels F. Brush two tablespoons oil evenly throughout a half sheet pan.

• Evenly punch down the dough and switch it out onto the ready pan. Press the dough flippantly right into a tough oval form, about 1/4- to half of-inch thick. It will not cowl the whole backside of the pan. It is okay to flip the dough a couple of times whereas shaping; add extra oil to the pan, if wanted.

• Brush the highest of the dough evenly with the Italian salad dressing. In a small bowl, mix the basil, oregano, garlic, salt and thyme. Evenly sprinkle this combination over the dressing.

• Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses throughout the highest of the dough.

• When you have the time or desire a barely fluffier bread, let the bread relaxation for 10-20 minutes earlier than baking. In any other case, you possibly can bake immediately.

• Bake for 15 minutes till the crust is golden brown and the cheese is scorching. Let relaxation for about 5 minutes earlier than reducing into squares and serving. The bread is scrumptious heat or at room temperature.

Salad dressing: use a model of retailer purchased Italian salad dressing you benefit from the style of, and it’ll work effective on this recipe. Shake the dressing rather well earlier than utilizing. The dressing on this salad recipe would make an amazing home made choice (omit the Parmesan cheese within the dressing, if utilizing for this recipe). 
Cheese: when you’ve got the time, freshly grated mozzarella cheese from a block is greatest (it melts significantly better than pre-shredded cheese from the shop). It isn’t a deal breaker if you should use pre-shredded mozzarella cheese; nevertheless, I extremely suggest utilizing freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the proper tacky crust (pre-shredded Parmesan is commonly dried out and received’t soften in addition to freshly grated Parm). 

Creator: Mel

Course: Bread

Delicacies: American, Italian

Technique: Bake

Serving: 1 serving, Energy: 144kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 5g, Fats: 5g, Saturated Fats: 2g, Ldl cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 374mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g

Recipe Supply: tailored from this recipe by the use of a reader, Sarah M., who has been making this bread for 20 years (and received Grand Champion at a neighborhood truthful for it!) – I elevated and tailored portions so the bread is ideal for a half sheet pan