Salted Rosemary Loaf

This is an ode to the wonderful salt-topped rosemary round at Trader Joe's, which is one of the top five things I miss from the US (after family and friends of course!). I never bothered much with breadmaking, except for the odd focaccia, because I both hate kneading and had access to TJs' rosemary round. But after hopping across the pond I because to miss it, and the bread at my local supermarket is generally lacking, and I am quite far from a local artisan bakery. So bake I must, but I still hate to knead! I researched no-bread techniques and recipes and tinkered until I was able to approximate my beloved rosemary round. It's super tender and crusty, with that delicious rosemary scent and addictive saltiness. This recipe can be easily adapted to fit many needs. You can skip the topping salt and/or the rosemary for a plain loaf if you would like, or even substitute for other herbs. I would stick with sturdier, woodier herbs like thyme. You may chop the rosemary if the texture may be an issue, but I find the baking softens them tremendously. I do try my best to find younger springs of rosemary which will have softer, smaller needles but this is not always possible.

The recipe can easily be doubled (or tripled if you have fridge space to burn). Just keep the reserve dough in the fridge, taking out an hour before baking. You can store the unused dough in the fridge for up to a week. I prefer to bake my loaves in a dutch oven (casserole to some of you), as the steam give it a great rise, particularly for a recipe like this where you aren't getting much structure from kneading. However you can bake this on a sheet pan and still get good results. As there won't be an un-lidding step, bake for 25 minutes and keep an eye on it from that point. Once the loaf looks lightly golden and crusty on top, give it a knock on the bottom. It should sound hollow.

225g (1 cup) warm (not hot!) water 5g (2 tsp) yeast 1 tsp salt 300g (1.75 cups + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour Approx. 1 tbsp fresh rosemary needles (or 2 tsp dried)

1 tbsp coarse sea salt for topping (I prefer Maldon) (optional - a small amount of vegetable oil to coat your hands for handling)

1. Mix salt, yeast, and water in a mixing bowl and let sit for a few minutes to ensure your yeast is active.

2. Add in flour and rosemary needles and mix until flour is incorporated completely, and stir for an additional minute. The dough will be a sticky mess. Cover and let rest on counter for 1 hour.

3. Move the bowl (still covered) to the fridge for at least two hours.

4. When ready to bake oil your hands if you choose (I recommend as this is a rather sticky dough!) and remove the dough from the bowl forming it into a rough ball shape. Place onto a well floured surface to rest for 1 hour. The dough will flatten out a bit so make sure there is room for it to spread somewhat.

5. In the meantime place a dutch oven (if using) into the oven and set to 220C (425F) if your oven goes a bit higher that is great, you will just have to reduce cooking time by a few minutes.

6. When the loaf is ready remove the hot dutch oven and open. Oil your hands if you wish and quickly transfer loaf to dutch oven. Cut an X into the top with a sharp knife or bread lame and top with coarse sea salt. Return lid and place back into the oven.

7. Bake with lid on for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes remove lid and check colour of your loaf. If extremely pale you made need 7-8 minutes longer, if already getting somewhat golden you may only need 5. When the loaf appears crusty and golden remove from oven and knock on the bottom, it should sound hollow when done. Let cool on a wire rack.