I fell in love with the rosemary bread at an Italian restaurant in Texas (of all places, ha!) and it left a big hole in my life when we moved away.  I craved it for years, until I finally sat down and recreated my own version that I like even better than the one I left behind.  I love how versatile this bread is, it goes equally well with a plate of pasta or a bowl of soup.  You’re going to love it!

Yeast

At first working with yeast can be a little intimdating, but really the only way you can kill yeast it by getting the water too hot.  If you have a thermometer, get the water in the range of 110-115 F.  If you don’t have a thermometer, just run your hand under the water and ask yourself if it would be a comfortable temperature for a bath.  If you can’t hold your hand under the water because it’s too hot, chances are it’s going to kill your yeast too.

If you see the yeast foaming a few minutes after adding it to the warm water, you will know it’s alive and starting to bloom.  If after 5 minutes, you don’t see any activity with your yeast, you will want to try again.

Next add the flour, oil, sugar, crushed rosemary, and salt to the mixing bowl.  I always add salt last when making yeast breads because if salt comes in direct contact with the yeast before it blooms, it can kill the yeast.  Knead on low speed for 8 minutes.  It’s a long time, but it will wake up the yeast and develop good gluten in the bread.

I use crushed rosemary instead of fresh rosemary in this bread because it’s a lot easier to find year round.

Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and turn over in the mixing bowl.  The thin layer or oil will keep the dough from drying out and forming a crust.  Cover and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

Let rise for 1 hour until approxiately double in size.

On a floured surface, divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.

Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of 2, 9″ round cake pans.

Shape the dough into circular loaves and place one in each pan, slightly flattening the top of each.

Cover with oiled plastic wrap (I used nonstick cooking spray on the plastic wrap).  Let rise at room temperature for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

See how my loaf isn’t a perfect cirlce?  That’s just fine!  Bake the loaves in a preheated oven for 10 minutes and remove loaves from oven.  Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with more crushed rosemary, and some good sea salt.

Place back in the oven and cook 10 more minutes until golden brown and crispy on the outside.

See what a difference those last 10 minutes make?

Jacobsen Sea Salt

Jacobsen Sea Salt out of Oregon is my favorite finishing salt.  It’s available in some grocery stores (Whole Foods) and online at Williams Sonoma and Amazon.  Jacobsen also has their own website with lots of great varieties to pick from.  Here’s my favorite!

Immediately remove loaves from pans and let cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes.  Slice and serve warm with salted butter.

Rosemary Bread

1 cup warm water, 110-115 F
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing loaves and preparing pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons dried rosemary, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Sea salt for finishing

Place the warm water and yeast in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, flour, 1 tablespoon rosemary, and kosher salt. Knead on low speed for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

Pour a little olive oil over the dough and turn over until coated, place the dough back in the mixing the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.

Brush 2, 9″ round cake pans with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil each. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces and form the dough into round loaves, pinching the dough underneath to create a round pieces of dough. Place each piece of dough in a 9″ pan (seam down) and slightly flatten the top. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise on the counter until doubled in size, about one hour (see pictures above).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  (For an extra crispy crust, bake the loaves in their pans, on a preheated pizza stone or baking steel in the oven.)

Bake the loaves for 10 minutes; remove from the oven, and brush with more olive oil and sprinkle with crushed rosemary and sea salt. Continue baking the loaves until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Immediately remove the loaves from the pans and transfer the bread to a rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with salted butter.