I need to give some credit to my husband as this is his recipe and it’s really good. He loves to make bread, pizza, and cakes. He likes to try out new recipes and each time he nails it. Here, he added rosemary to the rolls, seeds to the loaves, and a mix of herbs and seeds to the Italian-style baguettes; three of my favourites!

Makes 2 medium loaves, 6 rolls, or 2 Italian-style baguettes

Ingredients

500g strong flour

300ml water

7g dry yeast

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Extra flour mixed with corn flour for kneading and sprinkling

Optional: Seeds or aromatic herbs

Optional: Replace the water with beer or whey

Method

I don’t know how you feel about it, but I find it really hard to work the dough by hand. For this reason, I invested in a decent stand mixer that save me time and energy. A must-have in the kitchen!

To begin with, add all the dry ingredients to your mixer bowl and mix on a medium speed for a couple of minutes.

Then, while still mixing, add the extra virgin olive oil and slowly the water until the dough becomes smooth (for at least 10 minutes).

Add more flour/water if the consistency is too runny/stiff.

Add the seed/aromatic herbs and keep mixing.

When time is up, take the dough and form a ball.

Put inside a large bowl where you previously added some olive oil.

Cover the bowl with cling film or a cloth and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours (or until the dough doubles in size).

When the dough is ready, pre-heat the oven at 220°C.

Fill a small tray with water and place on the lower part of the oven.

Then, sprinkle the mix of flour on the counter and put the dough on top.

Knead gently, adding more flour if necessary.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough first into a rectangular shape and then into itself to make the loaf shape, divide it into 6 parts to make the rolls or in 2 parts if you prefer the Italian style baguettes (to shape the baguette, roll the dough away and toward your body in the middle until you achieve your desired length).

Prepare a tray by adding either baking paper or some extra virgin olive oil.

Distribute the dough on the tray, cut the top of each piece using a sharp knife and sprinkle on top some extra mix of flour.

Cook it in the oven for 30 minutes at 220°C or until dark brown (depending of what type of oven you have, it may take a little longer).

When ready, take the bread out of the oven and cool it down on a cooling rack.