Recipe - Cheesy Italian Bread Wedges

Like I said for my 2012 resolution, I'd celebrate the "food months" and Bread Making is part of January. I don't have a bread machine, so I wanted to figure out some kind of bread I could make that didn't take very long and used ingredients I already had at home. I came across a recipe for Italian Bread Wedges and decided to work with that. I've tweaked the recipe so here's the edited version.

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 12 pieces)

Dough

• 1 cup warm water (110°F-115°F)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsps active dry yeast

Topping

• black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup zesty Italian salad dressing
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (dried oregano, thyme, basil, etc)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
  

Step 2: Making the dough
Dissolve the yeast into just 1/4 cup of the warm water. Add sugar and let sit for 5 minutes before adding the oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until it is smooth and add in the remaining flour until you've created the dough. Knead until smooth & elastic (approximately 6-8 minutes) on a floured surface before putting into a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover top and place somewhere warm to rise (about double the size).


Step 3: Prepping the dough
Once the dough has risen to a good size (should take about 45 minutes), punch it down and put onto floured surface. Lay it flat for 5 minutes to rest before placing it onto a greased baking sheet. I managed with one that was 13" x 9" or a little smaller - can't remember. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.

Step 4: Finishing
Top with the salad dressing, herbs, garlic powder, and black pepper. Spread it evenly across the whole dough. Then scatter on your Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. You can top with other ingredients too but then it might go resembling a pizza! This bread is great fresh but loses out on its impact the next day - try making it as a starter or even stuff some salame in between for a "sandwich" bite.