Olive Rosemary Loaves Food

ALMOST-FAMOUS ROSEMARY BREAD

Steps:

• Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon (or with the dough hook if using a mixer) until a dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting lightly with flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Or knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding a little flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.)
• Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
• Brush 2 baking sheets with olive oil. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, then fold the top and bottom portions into the middle. Fold in the sides to make a free-form square. Use a spatula to turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting 2 balls on each baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the loaves 10 minutes; brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the kosher salt and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon rosemary. Continue baking until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with olive oil seasoned with pepper.

AUTHENTIC OLIVE-ROSEMARY BREAD - COOK'S ILLUSTRATED

Steps:

• Whisk water, yeast, and honey in bowl of standing mixer. Add flours and mix on low speed with dough hook until cohesive dough is formed, about 3 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap; make well in center of dough and add salt and rosemary. Knead dough on low speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 1 minute. If dough is very sticky, add 1-2 tablespoons flour and continue mixing for 1 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and pat into 12x6-inch rectangle.
• Press olives into dough. Starting at long side, roll rectangle into tight log. With seam side facing up, roll log into coil. Transfer dough, spiral side up, to oiled container or bowl, at least 2 quarts in volume, and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free location until it increases in size by 50 percent, about 1 hour.
• Fold partially risen dough over itself. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl again; fold once more. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes.
• Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 more minutes.
• Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface, being careful not to deflate. Divide dough in half, loosely shape each piece into ball, and let rise 15 minutes. Flip each ball over and, starting from top, roll into tight oval shape. Using palms, roll each oval from center outward until 12-inch loaf is formed. Poke any olives that fall off into bottom seam, then pinch seam closed.
• Transfer each loaf, seam side down, to 12x6-inch piece of parchment and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1-1 1/2 hours (dough is ready when it springs back slowly when pressed lightly with finger.).
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450°F at least 30 minutes before baking.
• Slide parchment sheets with loaves onto peal or back of inverted baking sheet. Starting and stopping about 1 inch from each side, use razor blade or sharp knife to cut three 1/2-inch deep slashes on diagonal along top of each fully risen loaf. Use a spray bottle filled with water to spray loaves lightly with water. Carefully slide parchment with loaves into oven using jerking motion.
• Bake 15 minutes, spraying loaves with water twice more in the first 5 minutes, and then reduce oven temperature to 375°F Continue to bake until bread is deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 210°F, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, discard parchment, and cool loaves to room temperature, about 2 hours.

ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL BREAD

Steps:

• ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT: 2 cups basic bread sponge (from my basic bread sponge recipe - this takes an additional day to make).
• I made this with the originally recommended amount of salt. I'd suggest halving the salt unless you like really salty bread.
• Measure the rosemary *after* chopping.
• In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Allow to proof for three minutes.
• Stir the sponge and 3 tablespoons oil into the water, breaking the sponge up using your hands or a spoon. Stir in the rosemary and salt.
• Add 3 cups of the unbleached flour, the whole wheat flour, and salt and mix, scraping and folding until the dough gathers into a single mass which will be wet and sticky with strands hanging from your fingers.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and allow to rest for 3 minutes. knead in as much of the 1/3 cup of flour as is required to make a smooth, elastic and only slightly sticky dough (use as little flour as is possible). Shape into a ball.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, brush the top of the dough with additional oil, and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove from the refrigerator and allow to warm-up in a draft-free spot for two hours.
• Sprinkle a baking sheet without sides generously with cornmeal. On a floured work surface, halve the dough and then shape one piece into a ball, pressing to remove any large bubbles at the edges. Place the dough-ball on the baking sheet, being sure to put the seam on the bottom. Repeat with the second ball, leaving 3 to 4 inches between the two. Cover with plastic and allow to rise until doubled, in a draft-free location. This should take 2-2 1/2 hours. These loaves will be flat and wide.
• Preheat the oven for at least thirty minutes along with a baking stone or tiles on the middle rack to 425. Place a baking pan with decent sides on the bottom shelf. Boil two cups of water. Brush the loaves again with oil and then, using a razor blade, make a tic-tac-toe pattern in the top of each of the loaves - do not tear the dough, you want to cut it. Pour the boiling water into the baking pan. Slide the loaves off the sheet and onto the stone.
• Bake for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 and then bake for another 30-35 minutes until the loaves are a light golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. When done, brush with additional olive oil and transfer to cool on a rack.