This post has also been posted on Baking Whole Grains, a site I write for which compensates me for sharing whole grain recipes. While I receive compensation, this does not influence my opinions. All photos and directions are my own.
The only word I can possibly use to describe this bread is: “WOW!” I bake all the time and I try all sorts of new recipes, but my husband swears that this is THE best bread he has ever tasted. I tend to agree!
I’ve never eaten at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, but apparently this recipe is a dead ringer for their rosemary bread served with olive oil dipping sauce. I would serve this to company in a heartbeat, and I also am considering giving it away as Christmas gifts! Loaves of bread like this can cost upwards of $5 each at nice grocery stores, but it can be made at home for much less!
You can’t even tell that this bread contains part whole wheat flour. It is so light and airy and it squishes when you cut it with a knife. I think I may have dreamed about this bread last night! I’m just glad we still have some to eat with our lunch today!
Even if you aren’t much of a bread baker, you really have to try this recipe. If you have a stand mixer, it will do most of the work for you!
Let me know if you try it!
Rosemary Peasant Bread
(adapted from here)
Printable recipe after photo directions!
Grind wheat in the WonderMill.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast, and evaporated cane juice. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
While it is resting, chop the fresh rosemary. Make sure to use just the leaves and discard the stems.
When the yeast mixture is bubbly, toss in kosher salt, 1 Tbsp. rosemary, 1 Tbsp. butter, and flours. Using your mixer’s dough hook, knead for 5 minutes (10 minutes if kneading by hand).
It will eventually come together and be smooth and elastic.
Coat a mixing bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn over once.
Cover, and allow to rise until doubled (about an hour).
After the rise, punch down the dough.
Coat a baking sheet with olive oil. Divide the dough into two equal balls and shape into round loaves. Place on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle loaves with additional 1 Tbsp. rosemary and press into the dough.
Allow loaves to rise again until doubled (45 minutes).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake loaves for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.
While still hot, brush loaves with remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Be generous! This gives great flavor to the bread.
To prepare the dipping sauce, crack some black pepper into a small dish and pour in some good quality olive oil.
This bread is a wonderful appetizer or addition to a meal!
Makes 2 loaves.
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp. yeast
- 2 tsp. evaporated cane juice (or sugar)
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (divided)
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted (divided)
- 1 cup freshly ground whole wheat flour
- 1½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (you can make this with all whole wheat flour, but the resulting loaf is "heartier")
- olive oil
- sea salt
- additional olive oil and cracked black pepper for dipping sauce
- Grind wheat in the WonderMill.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast, and evaporated cane juice. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
- While it is resting, chop the fresh rosemary. Make sure to use just the leaves and discard the stems.
- When the yeast mixture is bubbly, toss in kosher salt, 1 Tbsp. rosemary, 1 Tbsp. butter, and flours. Using your mixer's dough hook, knead for 5 minutes (10 minutes if kneading by hand).
- It will eventually come together and be smooth and elastic.
- Coat a mixing bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn over once.
- Cover, and allow to rise until doubled (about an hour).
- After the rise, punch down the dough.
- Coat a baking sheet with olive oil. Divide the dough into two equal balls and shape into round loaves. Place on the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle loaves with additional 1 Tbsp. rosemary and press into the dough.
- Allow loaves to rise again until doubled (45 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Bake loaves for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.
- While still hot, brush loaves with remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Be generous! This gives great flavor to the bread.
- To prepare the dipping sauce, crack some black pepper into a small dish and pour in some good quality olive oil.
Enjoy!
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I do quite a bit of bread making, both regular loaf bread and specialty rolls, buns, etc. This is one recipe I definitely need to try! Thanks for sharing it.
Oh my goodness, these look divine! I must give this recipe a go. Have I told you how much I love your new blog design?
This bread is amazing!
So glad you love it! I just made 4 loaves again yesterday for a party!
My dough didn’t rise. Any ideas why? 🙁
Did your yeast get really bubbly (almost frothy) when mixed with the warm water (after 5 minutes)? If not, maybe your yeast was too old (it does go bad after a while) or your water was too hot (it should be warm but not scalding). When you let your dough rise, was your kitchen warm enough? Sometimes in the winter dough has a harder time rising. If that’s the case, try turning your oven on warm and cracking the door open to add a little warmth to your kitchen while the dough rises. Hope that helps!
I made this last night to go with our supper. It is so very good!!! I think my dough could’ve used a bit more flour (freshly-ground can be heard to measure since it’s not as settled/packed as store-bought) since the dough was pretty sticky and the loaves looked to spread out more than yours, but it still tasted delicious! I will be making this again and again!
Bread-making can be so tricky sometimes! Humidity and altitude can both affect how much flour is needed. Glad you liked this recipe, and I hope it turns out better for you next time!
I’ve read that when you use fresh flour that you should heap the cup as you measure. Of course, flour always is finicky 😉 HTH
Making this again today. I kind of forgot about the recipe for a while, and I can’t wait to smell and eat this yummy bread.
my dear sweet aliesha you never cease to amaze me but then you are amazingly made!! just reading your blog and enjoyed it so much. I just love how you reach out to others and they receive blessings!! I’ve got to have some of that delicious bread!! It looks so good that I can almost smell itit! I wish I were more commuter literate so I could do more on it but I am going to have to stick to the old way of writing I do alot of writing. Letters of encouragement and blessing. send us a short email from time to time grandaddy does check our e_mail pretty often. Love all my wonderful family really enjoyed cordelias birthday pictures so adorable
your blog must bless a lot of people thanks for shariing your families life with others. im sure it blesses the LORD that bread looks so yummy!!!! maybe you will share some with us sometime!! I just loved looking at Cordelias birthday celebration. so much fun, so many happy faces, so much LOVE! Your family is a blessing in our lives!!! We love you all so much!!! GIGI
This looks so delicious! I have been infusing some olive oil with rosemary, so I will use that for dipping.
Oh, yum! I love infused olive oil.