This recipe comes from Christine Heyn of South Hadley, Massachusetts. She writes, "I am a Baking Sheet reader and would like to share this delicious sandwich bread recipe with you. My family just loves the Italian bread I make with King Arthur flours using semolina and Special bread flour. I decided to try combining semolina with Rye Blend and Special to make a hearty sandwich loaf. I hope you like the results as much as we do and will share it with your readers."

We love this bread -- the dough is very easy to work with, the texture is soft (but chewy), and the taste is delicious. The only change we made was to reduce the yeast by a bit, to keep the dough from rising so quickly.

Dough
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) water
1 tablespoon (3/8 ounce) sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (5/8 ounce) olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) dried minced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) vital wheat gluten
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Special Bread Flour
1 cup (4 ounces) Rye Flour Blend OR 1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) pumpernickel
1 cup (5 3/4 ounces) semolina
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Topping
water, egg wash or Bread Shine
1 tablespoon Artisan Bread Topping (optional)

In a large bowl, or in the bucket of your bread machine, combine all of the dough ingredients. Mix, then knead -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- till you've made a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Shape it into one large oval loaf, or divide the dough in half and shape each half into a 7- to 8-inch log. Transfer the loaf or loaves to a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a proof cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Spritz the loaf with water, or brush it with an egg wash (made by beating together 1 egg and 2 tablespoons water) or Bread Shine, then sprinkle with the seed topping, if desired. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for 18 to 22 minutes (for the large loaf) or 15 to 18 minutes (for the small loaves), until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature registers 195°F to 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack. Yield: 1 large or 2 small loaves, about 32 slices total.

Nutrition information per serving (2 slices, 41g): 104 cal, 2g fat, 3g protein, 18g complex carbohydrates, 1g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 201mg sodium, 93mg potassium, 1mg iron, 9mg calcium, 69mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XIII, No. 2, Winter 2002 issue.