This simple yeast bread is infused with fresh rosemary and sprinkled with sea salt for a beautiful loaf that goes well with almost any meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I’ve always loved the aroma and flavor of fresh rosemary in a homemade loaf of bread, which is probably why this simple Rustic Rosemary Bread is one of my favorites.
It’s so simple to make (rustic means you don’t have to worry about ending up with a perfectly shaped loaf!), and it goes well with pretty much any meal.
If you have a Macaroni Grill in your area and you’ve ever had the focaccia bread they serve with every meal, this tastes a lot like that. So basically, it’s amazing!
Our Macaroni Grill closed a few years ago, so I’m really glad I can still make this bread at home!
Of course, the danger with bread this good is always that you’ll eat too much and not have room for the main course. But this crusty, aromatic bread is just so hard to resist.
And the smell while it’s baking is just heavenly, thanks to the fresh rosemary! The only thing better than the smell of fresh baking bread is slathering a piece with butter as soon as it comes out of the oven.
This recipe does make two small loaves, which is perfect for my bread-loving family. The dog got a hold of an entire loaf–turns out she loves it too.
And honestly, by teen and young adult boys could probably each finish off a loaf on their own and still have room for dinner.
If you’d like to serve this bread restaurant style, pour some olive oil on a plate then add some salt, pepper and fresh herbs. then tear apart the bread and dip it in the savory oil mixture. So good!
If you’re only cooking for one or two, you might want to half the recipe. But honestly, I’d just make both loaves of this Rustic Rosemary Bread and freeze one for later–if it lasts until later!
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Olive oil
- Flour
- Fresh rosemary
- Salt
Rustic Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or a .25 oz. packet
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Sea salt for sprinkling on loaves (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper and olive oil for serving
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the water, yeast and sugar until yeast has dissolved. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, or until yeast is foamy.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 cups flour, the rosemary and the salt. Mix until well combined.
- Add in 1 cup more flour and mix on medium speed until smooth an elastic, adding additional flour as needed if dough is sticking to bowl. Cover bowl and allow to rest in a warm place until more than doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Grease a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each into an oval by folding and tucking the edges into the center.
- Transfer the loaves to the prepared baking sheet, seem sides down. Allow to rest, uncovered, for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees during last 10 minutes of rising.
- Bake loaves in the preheated oven 10 minutes, the remove from oven and brush loaves with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. If desired sprinkle tops with coarse salt. Return to oven and bake 8-10 minutes longer until golden brown.
- Serve warm with a mixture of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper for dipping, if desired.
32 comments
Kathleen Monast
I made this bread twice and really couldn’t make it work. The first time I followed the recipe exactly as written. The dough was almost runny and despite a longer-than-expected duration of kneading, it stayed runny. I had to use a dough hook because I was in a cast, but I had to hand knead to be best of my ability in order to get it to the right consistency. The resulting rounds were small, and the flavor was very good.
The second time I used new yeast, about an extra cup of flour, and doubled the recipe to get larger rounds. I had the same runny dough and this time had to knead it on the board using a spatula (because of my cast). There was a small rise, poor consistency, and the flavor was still good.
I don’t know the secret here and won’t try again.
Sandra Ward
This is the best Rosemary bread ever, and so easy!!
Question- using a stand mixer, can I double the recipe ok?
This only makes 2 smaller loaves, and gets devoured instantly!! Baked yesterday thinking I would have 2nd loaf with dinner tonight… no, gone!!
Thank you for posting recipe!!
Cindy M
This is my “go-to” bread recipe for giving to friends, neighbors and family. When I made it over the holidays, I noted a big difference when I bought new flour. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose had better texture and flavor.