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I’ve got another bread recipe for you this fine day folks. I just can’t help myself. I have a serious need to bake. Frequently. Too frequently for the good of my hips, to be brutally honest.
This bread is a knock off recipe from The Macaroni Grill. I did some searching on line (the Internet is a magical, magical tool) tried a couple of the recipes I found, altered them a bit and came up with this fine recipe I am presenting to you today. My family gives this 7 thumbs up, which means it is an automatic keeper. The recipe calls for fresh rosemary. Are you noticing a trend here anyone? I can’t get enough of the stuff. My girl rosemary is my favorite fresh herb, hands down. Basil is a close second but rosemary is my first love. I am going to attempt once again to grow rosemary this summer. I have heard about a wonderful bush you can plant here in Utah, that will continue to provide rosemary throughout the winter months as well as the summer months. Doesn’t that sound dreamy?
Fresh rosemary year round! That is something to be appreciated by taste buds and pocket book alike!
Macaroni Grill Bread
Yield: 2 loaves
Time: 1 1/2 hours start to finish
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!
1 1/2 t active dry yeast
1 C warm water
3 T olive oil
1/4 t sugar
2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t McCormick Italian Seasoning Grinder
1/4 t cracked black pepper
3/4 T fresh rosemary, snipped
1 egg
butter and salt
1. In the bottom of your mixer combine water, yeast and sugar. Mix it around a bit with a spoon and let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt, oil and 1 C flour. Mix for 30 seconds to incorporate.
3. Add the rest of the flour about 1/2 C at a time, while the mixer continues to mix.
4. When all of the flour is incorporated mix on high for about 7 minutes.
5. While your mixer is doing it’s fine work, get your herbs and seasonings ready to go. I like to snip rosemary with scissors. You don’t want to eat any of the thick stem that rosemary comes on, only the little needles.
6. When your dough is done mixing add the rosemary, pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix just until incorporated.
7. Cover your mixing bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rise for about 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
8. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Shape into balls and place on a sprayed cookie sheet, or a cooking stone with a bit of olive oil on it.
9. Spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut 2 slits in the top of the bread.
10. In a small bowl whisk an egg until frothy. Brush the egg all over the top of the loaf and into the cracks.
11. Place the loaves into a warm oven. (I set mine to 170) Let them rise until doubled in size, about 15 minutes.
12. Turn your oven up to 370 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
13. When the loaves come out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack. Brush butter over the tops and sprinkle a little bit of salt over the top of the butter. Be careful to not get too much. I always use freshly cracked salt. You can buy both salt and pepper crackers at Costco these days. Look on the spice aisle.
The end….hope you enjoy!
I tried this last night and love it! I made a stupid mistake and put in 1/4 cup of sugar instead of 1/4 teaspoon…no wonder I thought it came out as a sweetbread! Hopefully it’ll be less sweet with the right amount of sugar 🙂
I’m not sure if I’ll get a response since I am over a year behind on this amazing bread post – but I have yeast that does not require proofing. Do I still need to mix it with water and sugar to start the recipe? I’ve done this recipe before with the regular yeast packets and it was delicious!
Hi
I’m back and all ready to start on this! But just one quick question,… How ‘short’ do you snip the rosemary? Do you chop them to small pieces or you left it as it is after snipping them off their stem?
I am also wondering… Can I leave the dough in the 170F oven for its first rise instead of the 40mins as described in Step 7? How long should I do that? And then I will proceed to increase the temperature to 370F and continue the baking proper.
I am hoping to cut short the rising time (and thereby the entire process), perhaps that warm oven will help.
Thanks a mil!
As a baker who makes and loves good bread (I keep a leaven starter rather than buying yeast, and usually have at least four types of flours on hand) the yeast is alive, and different bread yeasts have different properties. Flours also vary greatly, sometimes requiring more or less flour. And finally, if you use tap water remember that municipal water sources put chlorine and other ingredients in to kill germs — which can also slow down yeast.
Cutting up rosemary is up to your tastes. Look in your spice cabinet and see how big other herbs are chopped.
I find that for most breads, keep the temperature of the source ingredients at around 80F. You can heat them up to 150F or so in the oven like this one asks, but that tends to over-excite the yeast, giving a bad ratio of bubbles in the dough. When proofing the dough (after forming it to the final shape) it is often better to go for about an hour at around 80F. It takes some experience to identify exactly when it is ready. Too little proofing and the bread will be more like a rock, too fast and it will have large air bubbles, too long and it loses the ideal texture.
I found your recipe a couple years ago. Surprised I haven’t commented yet. My family loves this bread! It’s easy for any beginner bread baker. We dip it in olive oil/balsamic/tuscan seasoning. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Jillian,
So glad to hear it! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Best,
~Jamie