Hy-Vee Recipes and Ideas

Excellent for mopping up those extra bits of sauce, Hy-Vee’s Baking Stone Italian Bread is similar to French bread, only it’s shorter and wider in size. While it's ideal for paninis, grilled cheeses, and deli sandwiches, it also makes crispy, crunchy, can't-get-enough garlic toast.

To make cheesy garlic toast:
1. Preheat the broiler, slice bread into 1/2-inch slices, and place slices on baking sheet.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 cloves crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Brush oil on slices, sprinkle with mozzarella or Parmesan, and place under broiler until cheese melts and bread is golden.

At Hy-Vee, French baguettes are baked at a high temperature while injecting steam into the oven. That's what gives them a distinctly soft and chewy inside with a crusty exterior. But don't let the name fool you. French baguettes get along with many cuisines, and especially Italian.

Slice and serve them with an herb-infused olive oil; top slices with bruschetta, or go caprese-style by adding slices of fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Tear and Share, Pull-a-Part, or Ridiculously Good Bread—these are all acceptable terms for Hy-Vee’s Baking Stone Garlic Crown Bread. Bakers start with a French dough, roll to length, and cut into individual pieces. Each piece gets brushed with a garlicky blend of Italian seasonings before it all comes together into a beautifully baked crown.

Similar to pizza dough, focaccia is a flat Italian bread that can be topped with a combination of cheeses and seasonings. Asiago Cheese is one of Hy-Vee’s most popular focaccias, and it’s not hard to taste why. Each loaf is topped with 2 ounces of cheese and baked until the cheese is crisp and golden. The bread is great on its own, but can also be served warm with marinara, pesto, or herb-infused olive oil.

Thin and crispy breadsticks (called grissini) are an authentic and playful accompaniment to any Italian meal. Try serving a small bundle tied together with a sprig of rosemary or thyme, or wrap the ends in prosciutto. For different flavors, look for La Mole Sfornatini. They come in sesame, garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary, and they're straight from Italy.