This fall Jedd and I made homemade ricotta in our very small kitchen. It was incredibly easy, and really delicious. Then we learned that with the leftover whey we could make bread.

The bread wasn't quite as simple as the homemade ricotta (what could be?) but it was easy, and it was by far the best Italian bread I have ever eaten. And the bread had the additional bonus of being really, really, made from scratch.

Homemade Italian Bread (recipe via Eating Small Potatoes)

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tbl. sugar
4 1/2 tsp. yeast

3/4 hot whey
1 cup warm water
5 tbls. melted butter

Additional ingredients (to your preference) are cornmeal and sesame seeds.

Add dry ingredients to the bowl and stir.
2. Heat the whey and water in a saucepan. Pour butter into the whey/water mixture.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Knead until well combined. (At least 5 minutes.)
4. Divide dough into 3 loaves. Pat the dough into a rectangle and then roll up into a cylinder. Pinch seams and edges, then shape.
5. Place the loaves onto a sheet pan sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. Paint the loaf with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
7. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes.

(Photos by Launie Kettler)