Rosemary, Lemon,Parmesan Cheese Bread

There has been no time this week to cook, so I am going to post some old pictures of great and easy Bread.

This recipe was inspired and adapted from a half of dozen bread recipes I found online and most recommended letting it rise anywhere from 8-12 hours. The first go around I made my dough I left it over night. It turned out wonderful and crusty but the next time I made this recipe I did not have patience and only let it rise for three hours: Guess What? It was even better because it took less time and still turned out crusty on the outside and light and flavorful on the inside.

The basic dough of water,salt , sugar and yeast can be played with and many different add-in’s can be tried. I have made this bread with: Jalapeños and cheddar , Cranberry, Orange Zest and shaved White Chocolate  also made a round of Raisin , Cinnamon Sugar and chopped pecans.  Be creative.

           Starter Dough:                

3 ½ cups white unbleached flour (you could try whole wheat but I have never used it in this recipe)

2 teaspoons sea salt ( If you have a salt that you like a Himalayan Sea salt or a Pink Hawaiian Salt you can use that)

1 ¾ cups warm water (If it is too hot it can kill the yeast)

½ tablespoon of Sugar in the raw

1 single size pack of active yeast

ADD-IN:

Zest of 2 Lemons

1-2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary removed from woody stem      

½ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

                    

Sift flour and salt into a large bowl add zest of 2 lemons and 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped rosemary and ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese set the bowl to the side

In a glass bowl or measuring cup Dissolve ½ tablespoon of sugar in the raw, in 1 3/4 cups warm but not boiling water. Once dissolved  add Yeast . Let the Yeast Mix bubble and “develop”.Once the yeast is developed add mixture into the flour mixture, Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.The dough will look wet and sticky.

Cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm area of the kitchen to rise

Once the dough is ready and has doubled in size, place a Heavy Cast Iron Dutch oven with the lid on in a 450 degree oven and let the empty pot heat for 30 minutes. While the pot heats flour a work surface ( I place sheets of plastic wrap on my counter and when I am done I just ball it up and toss , cuts down on mess and clean up) and dump the sticky dough out onto the work surface and shape into a rustic shaped ball, cover with tea towel and let rest until the pot is ready.

This one pictured is the Raisin, Cinnamon Sugar and pecan dough ( I could not find the picture of the rosemary lemon bread resting)

 Once the pot is heated careful remove from oven and place dough ball in the pot. I basically let it plop into the pot because of how hot the Dutch oven was.

 Once it is in the Pot don’t try to move the dough to center it if it is not in the center of the pot, it has already started to form the crust and it will turn out fine.

 Cover the Dutch oven and return to the oven for 30 minutes, don’t open the pot. After 30 minutes remove lid and let it bake for an addition 15-20  minutes until browned and crusty.

 Remove from oven and carefully lift out of pot with tongs, spatula or serving fork, Just don’t touch the pot. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool

use a serrated bread knife to slice and enjoy. You can serve it with a compound butter, maybe a little honey, sea salt mixed into an unsalted butter. 

Photo Below  is the finished Jalapeno Cheddar Bread: