This morning I decided to empty my camera card. It was getting a little out of control. There were photos from over a year ago; photos of spring ephemerals, the prairie burn at Taltree, of fall color and lots for recipes that I never got around to posting. I found a whole series on making rosemary onion bread. How had I forgotten about this? How have I never posted about this bread before? Oh, I did way back when I started this blog. Now that I have more experience baking, writing recipes and taking my own food photos; it's time for a sequel.
How to Make Rosemary Onion Bread Take Two:
Rosemary onion bread is a soft bread with a slight sweetness from the green onion and an earthy pungent flavor from fresh rosemary. I'm pretty sure I could eat a whole loaf by myself with just a little bit of butter. Although between you and me it doesn't even need the butter. This loaf is a little too tender to hold up as sandwich bread, instead serve it with a bowl of soup or as a side at Easter dinner.
- 1 cup warm water
- 2.5 teaspoons yeast
- 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 3-4 green onion (scallions)
- 3.5 cups flour
1. Pour the cup of warm water into a large bowl. The water should be about 115 degrees F, about the temperature of a nice bath. Add the brown sugar or honey and stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the yeast to bloom for about five minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mince the green onions and rosemary. I put the salt, rosemary and onion in a mortar and use the kitchen shears to chop right into the bowl. It's a handy way to save on dishes because the next step is to bruise the rosemary and scallions. Give them a good grind in the mortar with the pestle. Crushing the leaves allows all the savory oils to come out. This is the same technique used to make authentic pesto.
I found my mortar for ten dollars at an Asian food market. They don’t have to be super expensive. If you don’t have one, you can put the herbs into a baggie and mash them with a rolling pin or flat bottomed drinking glass for the same effect.
3. This is the secret to really flavorful herb bread! To further increase the potency mix the herbs and butter together. This will infuse the savory flavors into the butter. Scrape the herbs out of the mortar and into a microwave safe dish. Add the butter and microwave for 15-30 seconds or until the butter just liquefies. Stir until everything together.
4. Check on your yeast to make sure it has bloomed. The water should now be covered in a thin layer of frothy foam. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the salt and one cup of flour. Once the herb infused butter is cool enough to touch add it to the yeast mixture.
5. Continue stirring in the flour a half cup at a time until the dough is really hard to mix. Then use your clean hands to knead the dough. I like to knead right in the bowl or you can turn it out on to the counter.
6. Knead for about five minutes until the dough is elastic and still a little sticky.
7. Pour a little oil into a large clean bowl, place the ball of dough into the bowl and turn it to grease all sides. Then cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place until double. Depending on how warm your place is this could take thirty minutes to an hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously grease the bread pan. I use a standard loaf pan, but you could use a 9" round or even a cookie sheet if you want a more free-form loaf.
Punch the dough down and turn it out on to a clean work surface. Roll out the dough into a 10 inch by 20 inch rectangle. It doesn't have to be exact. Roll the dough up lengthwise so you have a 10 inch log of dough. Then tuck the open ends under and lay the dough seam-side down in your greased pan.
9. Allow the dough to raise for second time until double. This rise will go quicker; fifteen minutes to a half hour is all it should take.
10. Bake your loaf for 30-45 minutes or until the top starts to brown. When you turn your loaf out the sides and bottom should be a rich golden color, if they aren't put your loaf back in the oven for another five minutes or so. It's very disappointing to cut into a loaf only to find the middle is still doughy.
11. Once you've achieved the lovely golden brown, turn the finished loaf out on to a cooling rack. This keeps moisture from condensing in the pan and making the crust soggy. Allow the rosemary onion bread to cool at least five minutes before you slice into it. Try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting!