Italian Bread

I love making homemade bread. I always make my dough in my bread maker first, then bake it in the oven. The  recipe  I found on Food.com was so easy! It is now my go to Italian bread recipe. The only thing I might do differently next time, is add a bit more salt.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup water, warmed
2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
3. 2 teaspoons sugar
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
5. 3 cups all-purpose flour
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1 whole egg whites
8. 2 tablespoons cornmeal  (I didn't use)

Directions:

1. Add into bread machine container, warmed water, olive oil, sugar, yeast. Let yeast foam a bit.
2. Dump in flour (start with 2 1/2 cups); add salt on top of flour.
3. Turn on bread machine to dough setting. Watch for the first bit and add flour as needed to get a good dough. (elastic and not sticky).
4. Get cookie sheet ready by lightly oiling with olive oil and sprinkle on cornmeal.
5. Form dough into loaf and set on cookie sheet with tea towel to cover until doubled in size.
6. Preheat oven to 375*F.
7. Cut slits diagonally in loaf with sharp knife. Brush with egg white.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and when you knock the bottom of bread it sounds hollow.

Original recipe found over at Food.com.