November 26, 2025
Italian-American star bread with signature crunchy crust and soft crumb
bread dinner italian holidayWord Count: 621
| Total time: 13+ hours (includes overnight starter) |
|---|
| Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Rise time: 2-3 hours |
| Bake time: 18-20 minutes per loaf |
Equipment
| Equipment |
|---|
| Pasta Machine (required) |
| Stand Mixer |
| Dough Hook |
| Cookie Sheet or Baking Sheet |
| Wire Cooling Rack |
| Plastic Wrap |
| Kitchen Scale (recommended) |
Ingredients
Starter (Make Night Before)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Instant Yeast | 3/4 tsp |
| Warm Water | 1 1/2 oz (45ml or 45g) |
| Bread Flour | 3/4 cup (100g) |
Star Bread
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Starter | 1/2 cup (100g or 3.5 oz) |
| Bread Flour | 4 cups (500g) |
| Instant Yeast | 1 tsp |
| Cold Water | 6 oz (180ml or 180g), plus up to 3 tbsp more |
| Shortening | 3 tbsp (38g) |
| Olive Oil | 5 tsp (20ml or 20g) |
| Salt | 10g (1/2 tbsp) |
| Diastatic Malt Powder | 1 tsp |
Steps
Starter (Night Before)
- Mix yeast, warm water, and bread flour in a medium bowl.
- Knead briefly to combine into a ball. Add a few drops of water if too dry to come together.
- Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.
Star Bread Process
- Tear starter into pieces and combine with all other ingredients in a large bowl.
- Knead by hand for about 25 minutes or in a heavy-duty stand mixer with dough hook for about 20 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Add drops of water (up to 3 tbsp) near the end to keep dough pliable. Dough should have smooth surface and slight elasticity without getting sticky.
- Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and proof in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- Cut dough into quarters and form each quarter roughly into a strip.
- Run each strip through pasta machine at thickest setting. Fold and repeat for 15-20 passes until very smooth. Each strip should measure around 2 1/2 inches wide by 24 inches long.
- For each loaf, roll up two strips by hand and join them in the center following traditional Coppia Ferrarese shaping.
- Place each loaf on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Cover loaves with plastic wrap and proof for 70-90 minutes (or 30 minutes longer if room is cool) until grown but not quite doubled.
- Preheat oven to 435ºF convection bake, or 450ºF regular bake.
- Bake one loaf at a time on center rack for 18-20 minutes, rotating sheet midway.
- Lower heat to 425ºF convection after 10 minutes if browning too fast.
- Loaf is done when golden brown, sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, and cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool on wire rack and serve as soon as possible.
My Alterations
Based on testing, I’ve made the following adjustments to improve the process:
Starter Modifications
Increased Yeast: Use 2 1/4 tsp yeast instead of 3/4 tsp in the starter.
Adjusted Water: Use approximately 60g (about 2 tbsp) water instead of 1 1/2 oz. The extra yeast requires more water to balance it out.
Proofing Location: Proof starter on top of the oven at approximately 200ºF for 20-30 minutes.
Main Dough Modifications
Increased Yeast: Use 2 1/4 tsp yeast instead of 1 tsp in the main dough.
Mixer Water Addition: Add 1 tbsp of water in the stand mixer when mixing instead of “a few drops.”
Mixer Time: Stand mixer kneading reduced to approximately 12 minutes instead of 20 minutes.
Shorter First Rise: Reduced initial proofing time from 45 minutes to 20-30 minutes. Proof on top of the oven.
Shorter Second Rise: After shaping, proof for only 20 minutes instead of 70-90 minutes.
Adjusted Baking: Bake at 435ºF for 15 minutes instead of 18-20 minutes.
Note: The extra yeast in both the starter and main dough makes rise times much shorter while maintaining the characteristic texture.