Rosemary Olive Oil Bread With Sea Salt

Y’all, this is probably the best bread I have ever made.  One of the best breads I’ve ever eaten.

I know, I know—that’s a bold statement.  But I’m being completely serious.  As I’ve said previously on this blog, I’m not a huge bread person.  I can take it or leave most bread, and would rather have dessert or wine or even a good veggie side dish.  But this bread changed my mind. 

I first tested out this rosemary olive oil bread many years ago on Thanksgiving weekend, trying to come up with new ways to feed a bajillion people.  It’s become a family favorite and staple at Thanksgiving and even normal weekend family events.

One thing I like about it is that it’s really flexible.  The first time I made it, I was under the gun time-wise and so had to cheat and force the timings a bit for both the first and second rise.  But it’s a very forgiving recipe and has always turned out well.  What I’ve laid out here are ideal timings, but don’t be put off by them.

I’ve made a few tweaks to the original recipe, like adding sea salt on top (rather than the dried rosemary it called for).  I do believe that fresh rosemary in the dough makes a huge difference, so strongly recommend you use it if at all possible. 

The bread flour called for is nice and adds a great chewy texture, but if you don’t have bread flour then just substitute more regular flour.  I quite like this using mostly white whole wheat flour, but that’s your call…all-purpose works fine as well.

Save for later:  A Tool to Decide What Bread to Make Based On How Long You Have…

Fresh herbs are one of the best things ever!  You’ll want to mince up the rosemary really fine, helps get it spread out through the bread.

You can use either a stand mixer or do this by hand.  I’ve done both, and they work equally well.  Pour the water into a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and sprinkle the yeast and sugar on top.  Let sit for about 10 minutes, until the yeast is all sorts of bubbly and foamy on top.

Next, add about 3/4 of the total flour (reserve some to make sure your dough isn’t too dry), the Italian seasoning, fresh rosemary, salt, and olive oil.  Stir it together until it makes a nice sticky mixture.  As long as your dough isn’t too dry, go ahead and add the rest of the flour and mix in.  You definitely want this to be a wetter, stickier dough though.

Let the machine knead it for about 3 minutes, or knead by hand on the countertop with a little flour for about 5 minutes.  Even if you’re using the mixer, it’s nice to turn the dough out onto the counter with a bit of flour and give it a minute or so of kneading and then shape it into a ball.

Then grease a big bowl with a little olive oil and place the dough inside.  Cover (I like to use plastic wrap tightly sealed), set it aside and let it rise for about an hour.  It will grow a TON and be a very light, wet, bubbly dough when risen.  It needs to double in size if at all possible.

Once it’s done rising, turn it out onto a floured surface.  Punch the dough down, then give it a knead for about a minute and then form it into a round loaf.  On a pizza stone or baking sheet, toss some flour and cornmeal on there, or you can use parchment paper.  Put the loaf on there and then cover it and let it rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.

While the dough is having its second rise, partway through pre-heat your oven to 400 F.

Once the bread is risen again, take a sharp, serrated knife and make kind of criss-cross cuts on the dough about a quarter-inch thick.  This gives the steam somewhere to escape to during baking.  This dough is SUPER delicate though, just be gentle.  It gets stretchy and wrinkly easily, but nothing to be done about it.

Make the egg wash by beating a whole egg with a tablespoon of water.  Gently brush it on the dough, then sprinkle with whole sea salt or kosher salt.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown on the outside and hollow-sounding when tapped on the bottom.  I’d recommend using a meat thermometer (I love this one) and checking the internal temp…it should be around or above 200 F when it’s done.

Make sure to let it cool down before cutting—at least 20 minutes (ideally it’s no more than 85 F inside).  Otherwise you’ll end up with a doughy mess.

The bread was warm and super fragrant, with delicious herbs and the salty top.  It gets rave reviews from everyone, and is even awesome the next day (which most homemade artisan bread is not, in my experience).  On a side note, it makes amazing grilled cheese…

Other breads to try with your meal:

• Samin Nosrat’s Ligurian Focaccia
• Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread
• Simple Drop Biscuits from Outlander Kitchen
• “Quick” Rosemary & Caramelized Onion Focaccia
• Crusty French Baguettes in 30 Minutes
• Easy Soft Dinner Rolls

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread with Sea Salt

I often double this recipe to make two loaves.  I do recommend using fresh rosemary if at all possible.  You can substitute all-purpose for the bread flour if you don’t have it.  I like using white whole wheat flour but if you prefer regular all-purpose that’s fine.  

• 1 cup of warm water (100-110 F)
• 1 tablespoon of organic cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
• 1/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (or pinch of each ground garlic, dried oregano, and dried basil)
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups of white whole wheat flour (plus extra for kneading)
• 1/2 cup of bread flour
• 1 egg, whisked + 1 tablespoon of water, for egg wash
• Whole sea salt, for sprinkling

1. You can use either a stand mixer or do this by hand.  I’ve done both, and they work equally well.  Pour the water into a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and sprinkle the yeast and sugar on top.  Let sit for about 10 minutes, until the yeast is all sorts of bubbly and foamy on top.
2. Next, add about 3/4 of the total flour (reserve some to make sure your dough isn’t too dry), the Italian seasoning, fresh rosemary, salt, and olive oil.  Stir it together until it makes a nice sticky mixture.  As long as your dough isn’t too dry, go ahead and add the rest of the flour and mix in.  You definitely want this to be a wetter, stickier dough though.
3. Let the machine knead it for about 3 minutes, or knead by hand on the countertop with a little flour for about 5 minutes.  Even if you’re using the mixer, it’s nice to turn the dough out onto the counter with a bit of flour and give it a minute or so of kneading and then shape it into a ball.
4. Then grease a big bowl with a little olive oil and place the dough inside.  Cover (I like to use plastic wrap tightly sealed), set it aside and let it rise for about an hour.  It will grow a TON and be a very light, wet, bubbly dough when risen.  It needs to double in size if at all possible.
5. Once it’s done rising, turn it out onto a floured surface.  Punch the dough down, then give it a knead for about a minute and then form it into a round loaf.  On a pizza stone or baking sheet, toss some flour and cornmeal on there, or you can use parchment paper.  Put the loaf on there and then cover it and let it rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.
6. While the dough is having its second rise, partway through pre-heat your oven to 400 F.
7. Once the bread is risen again, take a sharp, serrated knife and make kind of criss-cross cuts on the dough about a quarter-inch thick.  This gives the steam somewhere to escape to during baking.  This dough is SUPER delicate though, just be gentle.  It gets stretchy and wrinkly easily, but nothing to be done about it.
8. Make the egg wash by beating a whole egg with a tablespoon of water.  Gently brush it on the dough, then sprinkle with whole sea salt or kosher salt.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown on the outside and hollow-sounding when tapped on the bottom.  I’d recommend using a meat thermometer (I love this one) and checking the internal temp…it should be around or above 200 F when it’s done.
10. Make sure to let it cool down before cutting—at least 20 minutes (ideally it’s no more than 85 F inside).  Otherwise you’ll end up with a doughy mess.

Original recipe here