Rustic Italian Bread: Pagnotta Recipe

Sliced pagnotta bread with a soft and airy texture.

Rustic Italian Bread: Pagnotta Recipe

Make a homemade rustic Italian bread with a golden crust and airy crumb using gentle no-knead stretch-and-fold and coil folds. This easy pagnotta recipe is perfect for dunking in soups and stews.

Course Bread

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 45

Resting/proofing/cooling 2 45

Total Time 4

Servings servings

Calories 90kcal

Author Maria Vannelli RD

Ingredients

500 grams bread or pizza flour approx. 3½ cups
125 grams whole wheat flour approx. 1 cup
3.5 grams active dry yeast 1 teaspoon
4 grams granulated sugar 1 teaspoon
465 grams water 2 cups, lukewarm
10 grams salt 1½ teaspoons
additional flour for dusting the wooden board

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients: Whisk both flours, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl.
Combine: Make a well in the flour mixture, pour in the water, and mix into a shaggy dough. Cover and rest for 2–3 minutes.
Add salt: Sprinkle salt over the dough and mix until well incorporated. Cover and let the dough rest in a warm spot for 15 minutes. (Oven with light on or proof mode works well.)
Stretch and fold: Perform 2 sets of stretch-and-folds and 2 sets of coil folds, resting for 15 minutes between each (REFER TO RECIPE NOTES FOR DETAILS).
Preheat the oven to 475°F (245°C) with a pizza stone on the middle rack and a metal pan on the lower rack.
Turn out dough: Invert onto a floured surface.
Shape and form bread: Fold, roll, cup, and shape into a round ball of dough. Place seam-side up in a bread proofing basket. (REFER TO RECIPE NOTES FOR DETAILS).
Final proof: Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a tea towel and proof for 30 minutes in a warm spot.
Transfer, score & bake: Gently transfer (seam side down) onto your baker. Shallow cut lengthwise, cover with lid, and place on the middle oven rack. Add ice cubes to the pan on the lower rack. Bake for 30 minutes at 475°F (245°C). Then remove lid, reduce the heat to 425°F (220°C) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Cool: Transfer to a wire rack to cool before slicing.
The total weight of the baked bread is approximately 1 kilogram, yielding about 25 slices, each weighing roughly 40 g.
Detailed step-by-step photos are included in the article.
You can also watch the video on the recipe card to see how to shape the bread.

Video

Notes

Stretch & fold — 1st and 2nd set

With wet or lightly dampened hands, lift one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl ¼ turn and repeat until you’ve gone around (about 4 folds).
Flip the dough over and gently shape it into a ball.
Cover and rest 15 minutes in a warm place (an oven with the light on or proof mode works well).
Repeat the same stretch-and-fold sequence and rest for another 15 minutes.

Coil folds — 3rd and 4th set

With wet or lightly dampened hands, gently lift the dough from the middle so it sags down on both sides.
Fold it under itself (like tucking it in) and let it drop back into the bowl.
Rotate the bowl and repeat once more.
Roll into a ball. Cover and rest for 15 minutes in a warm place (an oven with the light on or proof mode works well).
Repeat the same coil-fold process one more time, then rest for another 15 minutes.

Shape and form bread

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board.
Lift the bottom third of the dough and fold it toward the middle. Pinch to seal.
Fold in the left side, then the right side, toward the center, and pinch as you go.
Next, fold down the top third and pinch in place.
One at a time, bring in the four corners toward the middle and pinch them in place.
Roll the dough away from you, pinching the seam and sides to create surface tension. Gently press down with each turn to keep the shape tight.
With the seam-side down, gently shape into a round ball. You can also use a bench scraper to help tighten the shape.
Place the ball of dough seam-side up in a bread proofing basket.
Cover and rest for 30 minutes in a warm place (an oven with the light on or proof mode works well).

Baking Tips

Lukewarm water (105–110°F / 40–43°C)
Wet fingertips to handle sticky dough
Rest periods make folds easier
Warm proof (80°F / 27°C) — oven light on works great
Score to guide the rise (optional)
Steam for a soft crust & full rise
Cool completely before slicing

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used.

Nutrition