One of the most satisfying things to bake is always bread (at least for me). Dave was actually the one to request a rosemary bread, but I was more than happy to try one out. And I’m so glad I did, this was delicious and made a great addition to all of the soups I’ve been making lately.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, picked from branch and chopped
1 pinch of garlic powder
1 pinch of dried oregano
1 pinch of basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour (I had to go to a couple stores to find this, but ended up finding some King Arthur flour at Safeway)
1 egg
Additional rosemary to sprinkle on top
Wax paper
Semolina flour or cornmeal to dust the wax paper

1. To get started, mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and let it sit for ten minutes until it is foamy.

2. Once it is foamy, add the salt, rosemary, spices, olive oil, and whole wheat flour and mix at a low speed with the bread hook. Once it has started to mix, add the bread flour, and then continue mixing until it forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Now, take it out of the mixer and mix it by hand on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. If it still sticky, feel free to add more flour until it is no longer sticky.

3. Now place it in a buttered bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for an hour, which should double its size.

4. Once the dough has doubled, take it out of the bowl, and shape it into a round loaf. Take a piece of wax paper and sprinkle cornmeal or semolina flour on it. 

5. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise for another 45 minutes.

6. While the bread is rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, place this in the oven and let it preheat as well. If you don’t have one, you can just use a baking sheet (and no need to preheat that).

7. Once the dough has risen, mix your egg with a splash of water. Then use a baking brush, and brush the top of the loaf with this egg wash. Then sprinkle rosemary on top. Now place the wax paper with the bread on top of the pizza stone in the oven.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it sounds hollow when tapped.

And that’s all folks.