I hope the holidays were very magical and merry and full of yummy things to eat and good company your way! It certainly was here 🙂 I've had many requests for this recipe, and I think many of you will enjoy it. It sure accompanies a bowl of warm soup awfully well.
This Rosemary Bread has been a new favorite around here. I'm going to have to pick up another Rosemary plant though, because my once overgrown shrub is shrinking quickly outside!!
I adapted this recipe from one I found in my new bread machine manual. My mom is SO my hero….. she gifted me with a fancy new bread machine for Christmas. I haven't had one in years, and I must come clean….. I opened it early!! It came with a packing slip, so I knew what it was, even though it was gift wrapped. When things got SUPER busy the week before Christmas I opened it up and simultaneously made bread and solstice jammies. My oldest kids kept teasing me about being a "cheater bread baker". Until they realized fresh bread was baking daily (by hand or machine) and then their mouths were so full of bread and butter they forgot to tease their mama any more! The second recipe I made electric style was this Rosemary Bread, which was so amazing I just knew it was perfect for gift giving.
Mom, thank you. You're the best. And it's all Joe's fault, he made me open it, I swear!
Rosemary Bread
(this is my adapted 2 pound loaf recipe for a bread machine. see the notes at the end of the recipe for an acoustic version)
1.5 cups of warm water
1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin is best)
2 tsp salt
3 cups white flour
3/4 cups wheat flour
3 TBSP fresh rosemary (or 4 tsp dried, I used fresh)
2 tsp yeast
*put the ingredients into your bread machine in this order. press start. go sew something.
~to make it acoustic, and I must say it is best this way, double the above recipe, except for the yeast, you only need to increase that to a total of 3 tsp. mix together the water and yeast and let sit until bubbly. add olive oil and salt. stir. add wheat flour. stir. add rosemary. stir again. add white flour one cup at a time until the batter is too thick to stir. turn the shaggy dough onto a floured surface and knead in more flour until the dough holds its shape. let rise for 45-60 minutes, until doubled. punch down and shape into 2 round loaves. place on oiled baking stones and cover for another rise, about 35-45 minutes. preheat the oven to 450. (that's not a typo, just do it.) place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven to steam up the oven. cut a few slices into the bread tops and place in the steamy oven. check on the bread every 15 minutes, when it looks nice and golden, turn the temp down to 375 and continue baking for about 15-20 minutes longer until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. total baking time will be about 40-50 minutes. when I turn my oven down, I also take the bread off the stones and remove the pan of water so the bottom browns nicely.
add butter and enjoy.