This bread is absolutely delicious! I used fresh basil (triple the amount) since I have a seemingly endless supply in the garden. I otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I did have to add in at least an extra cup of flour during kneading. The recipe makes two LARGE loaves. My husband and oldest son loved this one. Thanks for sharing!
I love herbed breads so this recipe appealed to me. The mozzarella was just icing on the cake. I followed the recipe except for using 50/50 whole wheat and all purpose so I added in some vital gluten. I did not add the salt directly to the yeast proofing solution as that would have diminished the action of the yeast. Like Pam I needed to add significantly more flour to obtain a workable dough - 2 cups more in fact. It almost became too much for my stand mixer to handle kneading. I would have cut the recipe in half had it actually called for closer to that 6 cups of flour rather than just 4. There is a big difference between '4 cups or as needed' and 6 cups. I got two very large round loaves from this recipe. I found the flavor from the basil and cheese subtle but pleasant and the texture was beautiful. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This made an impressive large loaf of bread with an excellent texture inside. The mozzarella made the loaf smell wonderful coming out of the oven. I made a half recipe and used almost 3 cups of flour.
if i could give this recipe 100 stars i would!!i have made this bread at least 20 times and everytime it wows me..whenever i go to dinner at someone's house or have dinnerguests i bring/serve this bread and everyone is always amazed that i made this and didn't buy it at some fancy bakery!! the only thing i do differently is slice it lengthwise instead of in wedges but this recipe is foolproof and needs no alteration..this bread also makes very good sandwiches spread with mayo and topped with sliced vine tomatoes and mozza cheese and put under the broiler!! the only negative i can say is that i need to buy bigger pants to fit my expanding waistline as i could eat a whole loaf to myself in a day!!
I read all reviews about the addtional flour. Being in a warmish and humid part of the world I tried out half of the recipe with 3/4 cup water 2 cups of bread flour as a start threw in a tablespoon of minced garlic and follow the rest of the instructions. During the kneading I added another 1/3 cup of flour to get a more workable dough. I shaped them into 2 small loafs. The bread came out wonderful and aromatic moist and flavourful. I served them with the Cream of Mushroom Soup I from this site. My kids and hubby raved over it. I gave it 4.5 stars because the flour to water proportion is off otherwise it is an easy and crowd pleasing recipe.
This is a great recipe but I caution that the flour to liquid ratio listed is off. I ended up using six cups of flour to mix and another half cup while I was kneeding to get to the right consistency. I put all ingedients except the mozzarella and basil into my bread machine and processed on the dough cycle. During the final mix I added the cheese and basil (fresh from the garden). I upped the cheese to almost two cups but for some reason didn't up the total amount of basil used - I should have. I was a little leary of the baking temperature but it was fine. I tented after about 10 minutes to keep the tops from getting too dark. This bread has a delicious flavor and I will be making again. Thanks so much for sharing!
This makes two ENORMOUS loaves of bread...which is wonderful! Like the other reviewers I also found the amount of flour to be way off. I used almost 6 cups. Texture and flavor are wonderful- will make again for sure.
This is really really GOOD bread! It smells so good baking!! It would be a great accompaniment for anything Italian or a good soup too. We are loving this bread I hope I have some left to serve with dinner luckily this recipe makes 2 large loaves!
Easy to make. I halved the recipe because I didn't want too much left over. Next time I would add some garlic powder to intensify the flavour and maybe brush the top with butter when I take it out of the oven. It was a lovely loaf though and went really well with our tortellini soup. Thanks!
The ratio of 2 1/4 cups liquid to 4 cups of flour is not correct it is more like 6 to make a nice dough. Can't wait to try it
