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.

ROSEMARY BREAD

As I was digging in the freezer the other day, to no avail, in order find a package of hamburger buns to go with supper that night, I had a “eureka” moment. Why not make my own hamburger buns using what has quickly become a family favourite bread recipe… Rosemary Bread. I had been using this recipe quite often to make loaves of crusty bread or pans of savoury dinner rolls and each time they have been a hit. As hamburger buns, they were a winner as well, although the next time I make them, and there definitely will be a next time, I will use a small bowl to cut the shape of the rolls. I had used a large beer glass to cut them out which meant the baked buns were a little on the small size. At least there were no complaints “Where’s the beef?”

This is a recipe for a bread machine but there is no reason why you couldn’t make them without a machine using a little elbow grease, just follow the basic bread making techniques. If you’ve never made bread before, you can find bread making methods in just about any cookbook.

I have been using my machine lately to mix the dough and then taking the dough from the pan to rise the traditional way and baking it in the oven. I find it makes better bread that way and I don’t feel so guilty for cheating by using a bread machine.

Rosemary Bread
Add to the bread machine pan in the order listed:
1 ½ c. warm water
4 Tbl. Olive oil
1 ½ tsp. Sea salt
4 c. white flour
3 tsp. Dried rosemary
2 ¼ tsp dried yeast

Set on dough cycle if you want to shape your own bread and bake it in the oven, or set your machine on White Bread, large loaf and Medium or dark crust and let it bake in the machine.

To bake in your oven, remove dough from machine when the dough cycle in finished and place in a large bowl that has been greased with olive oil. Rub it around bowl to coat dough with oil. Cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in volume, about two hours.


***If you don’t have a machine, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix together the water and olive oil and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix well with your hands then sprinkle a little flour along the edges of your bowl while kneading the dough. Continue to add flour while kneading until dough is no longer sticky. Knead about 10 min., form dough into a ball. Add a little olive oil to the bowl and spread to coat sides. Place dough in bowl and rub it around bowl to coat dough with oil. Cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in volume, about two hours.

After the dough has risen until double in volume you can shape it into one large loaf or divide it in half to make two small loaves…or cut off small pieces of dough to shape into dinner rolls and place into pans.…or roll it out into pizza pans to make a delicious herbed pizza crust.

To make hamburger buns, I rolled the dough out to ½ inch thickness and cut rounds with a large glass, but a small bowl would make larger buns.

***After shaping your bread, cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise again until double in volume Bake in a 400 degree oven for:

Dinner rolls - 30 - 35 min.
Hamburger buns - 30 - 35 min.
2 Small Loaves - 40 - 45 min.
1 Large loaf - 45 - 55 min.

For pizza, add toppings and bake at 500 degrees for approximately 10 min.

Enjoy!