Italian Bread Loaf

   Something many of you might not know, is that I suffer from a condition in my lungs. The symptoms are that of COPD, but it isn't nearly as progressive as that disease. It's closer to having an asthma attack 24/7, and while the doctors try to figure out what is going on (diagnosis range from pulmonary hypertension to just plain old scarred up lungs from years of asthma and pneumonia), I have few options for work. My previous employer was Apple, where I spoke to customers on the phone everyday, all day, fixing their computers, and phones, and such. So needless to say, now that I am unable to continuously speak for longer than 3 sentences, without sounding like I just ran a marathon, it's hard to preform on a phone.

   I told you all that, to tell you this... One of the things I miss most about having a job, other than a paycheck, was lunch break. Going to try all the different foods offered in whatever local I was in was a guilty pleasure. This is where I got the drive to actually expand my cooking abilities, because why spend money to buy it, if you can make it at home?

   My second most guilty pleasure in the food world (We will get to #1 another time) was Subway. The smell of the place was amazing. The cheddar jalapeño, the Italian herb ... all the breads we have come to love from that establishment excite my taste buds. So I figured out what I needed, and learned to make it here at the house. So, I give you my version on Italian bread loaf. As always, you can watch me make it here!

Italian Bread Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• whatever seasonings you want the bread to take on - Italian seasoning, cheddar and chopped jalapeño slices, and caramelized onions are some of my favorites!

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine water and sugar. Mix well until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top of the water, but refrain from mixing. Cover with a tea towel for 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add flour to water and yeast and mix. Start with one cup of flour, and when that is combined, add your mix in's when the dough is about the consistency of pancake batter. Then continue to add flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough becomes shaggy.
3. Turn out on a floured work surface and knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes, building gluten to the point where you can poke it, and the dough pushes the dent back out. 
4. Shape the dough into a ball and place, covered, in an oiled bowl for 1 hour or until dough has doubled. Heat oven to 350 degrees F., and turn out dough once more. Spread dough into a rectangle shape, about the size of a legal piece of paper. Roll the dough up from the long end like a cinnamon roll, and pinch the seams closed. Fold the ends over, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, seam side down. 
5. Put in oven for approx. 30 to 35 minutes. 
6. Coat with 1 Tbsp. melted butter or olive oil once out of the oven and cooling. Cover with tea towel until it has completed cooling completely. 
7. Enjoy!