ROSEMARY BREAD REVISITED

Some people have asked me if I had tried the Rosemary Bread recipe I had previously posted, using old fashioned muscle power instead of using a bread machine, and to answer them, I hadn’t, so... this morning I put it to the test and gave it a try. This recipe flies in the face of what I had previously learned about bread making methods, where you always started your yeast by sprinkling it over a small bowl of warm water to which a little sugar had been dissolved, and that the sugar was necessary for the yeast to work. While this recipe does not have any sugar at all, when mixed in the bread machine the dough rises as well as any other dough containing sugar, so it only follows that it would work as well when made by hand.

My test results:
I found the bread made by hand turned out with good results.
I mixed the wet ingredients and added them to the dry ingredients and used my hands to mix the dough well. I found that I didn’t have to work in any extra flour. After kneading it some in the bowl I turned the dough out onto a floured counter and continued to knead it well for another 10 min. then placed it into a bowl greased with olive oil, covered it with a damp cloth a let it rise until double in volume. I then knocked the dough down, shaped it into dinner rolls and baked it at 400 degrees for 30 min. Before removing from the pans, I rubbed butter over the tops and
…voila!

I highly recommend you eat at least one, spread liberally with butter. while still hot from the oven.

They went well with Roasted Zucchini with Garlic and Basil Pesto and a side salad tossed with “Asian Miracle Dressing," a recipe I got from my daughter Grace.
Asian Miracle Dressing
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 TB maple syrup
a pinch of salt
a grind of pepper
1/2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 TB extra virgin olive oil

Combine and whisk with a fork until well-blended.