Rosemary Bread

Rosemary is one of my top three favorite herbs. I used to have two huge rosemary bushes planted in my flower bed as you reached my front door, but alas, my daddy shot them to death. Wait, what? Yep, you heard right. Gerald has been called home from work many times to kill a snake. It's a 45 minute drive each way. So, when my daddy retired, he became the resident snake killer. (They live basically next door.) We had a snake to come across the front yard and wrap itself around one of my rosemary bushes. We use a shell that sprays pellets to make the most impact on the snake, so it took a few shots to make sure he was dead. He was, but so was my rosemary bush. I literally lifted it up - the shot had severed the stem! It smelled a lot like roasted chicken...Anyway - I use rosemary a lot. I keep dried rosemary all the time, but our Italian Valentine's Day meal required fresh.

Here's a link where you can see my beautiful rosemary bush before it bit the dust, and also how I use rosemary and other herbs in floral arrangements.

And here's a link to rosemary foccasia bread. It's super easy and soooo good.

This bread was so popular at Macaroni Grill. They'd bring it to you and pour you a dish of good EVOO and Balsamic vinegar for dipping. It kept you busy while your food was prepared! I doubled the recipe. I mean, I'm  making fresh bread...let's enjoy it!

Rosemary Bread

1 tbsp rapid rise yeast

1 tbsp white sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I use White Lily)

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, divided

2 tbsp melted butter 

I started by mixing my warm water, yeast, and sugar. I let it sit a couple of minutes to activate. I use Rapid Rise yeast, but it still doesn't hurt to give it a little time while you do other things.

Next I pulled the leaves off the rosemary stems and chopped them.

I added my about a third of my flour and all of the salt.

Using my dough hook, I turned my mixer on low and slowly added the rest of the flour and half of the rosemary.

Once it was all incorporated, I turned it up to about 3 and let it knead for five minutes. I placed it in an oiled bowl and covered it with plastic wrap. I placed it on my stovetop and turned on the light. I allowed it to rise about an hour and a half. It doubled.

I removed the plastic wrap and poked it with my finger to release any air. I then removed it to a cutting board, formed it in a large smooth circle and cut it in half.

I took each half and smoothed it, tucking the extra underneath. Parchment paper will keep it from sticking and also make for easy cleanup. 

I brushed it with two tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkled it with fresh rosemary. I sprayed more plastic wrap, covered it and then replaced it under the light on my stove. One hour later, it had again doubled in size.

I removed the plastic wrap, sprinkled it liberally with kosher salt, and baked it for about 20 minutes at 375. I turned on the broiler at the end for a couple of minutes to add some color. I timed it so it would be ready about 10 minutes before we ate. There's nothing better than warm bread!

My sweet friend, Melannie, gave me this oil and vinegar set for my birthday this year. It's from a lovely specialty food shop in Montgomery. (She knows me so well!) This was the perfect meal to use it! I will save the Chipotle oil for a Mexican recipe, but the Neapolitan Herb Balsamic was perfect for adding to my EVOO!

This warm, salty bread was so good! It was hard (as usual) not to just fill up on the bread! But it was so good, and definitely something Gerald and I both enjoyed because it reminded us so much of the times we enjoyed as we were dating. Dessert is tomorrow, so be sure to save room!

I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!

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