We don’t eat out a lot – 1. cause I love to cook and bake and 2. cause when I actually find something I like at a restaurant I end up coming home and learning how to make it (so there aren’t a lot of places left to eat at) I have always enjoyed the bread (I’m a carb girl) at any restaurant, esp the rosemary bread at Macaroni Grill, it’s a favorite. SO of course I had to learn how to make it.
It smells amazing, has a great salty crunch and a wonderfully soft interior! It has rosemary inside and is topped with butter, more rosemary and salt (Mmmmm salt). It’s great for dipping in olive oil, salt and pepper, like in the restaurant AND great with saucy meals like alfredo and soups and of COURSE my copycat macaroni grill Penne Rustica!
As you can see the dough is really REALLY sticky, don’t work in too much flour, better to have messy hands and great bread. I can’t stress this enough, I know it’s tempting to work more flour into it, but don’t. The more flour the denser and tougher your breads will be, the more you can learn to work with sticky dough the better you outcome will be!
And that’s it! Easy Peasy, just some wait time, and your ready to go. The recipe doubles or triples easily, so it’s great for feeding a crowd if you need it. I love this recipe cause it’s just so dang easy!. Do you have a favorite bread you like to make for meals?
a soft flavorful loaf of rosemary bread - a copycat recipe from macaroni grill
- 1 Tbsp Dry Yeast
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 C warm water
- 2 1/2 all-purpose flour all purpose, not bread
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp FRESH ROSEMARY chopped
- 2 Tbsp butter
- coarse salt
- Measure the water and add the yeast and sugar, allow the mixture to become bubbly, about 5-10 mins.
- Mix 2 cups of flour and the salt.
- Add one tablespoon of the fresh chopped rosemary and the yeast mixture. Mix together with bread hooks until smooth and elastic.
- Add flour if necessary, but not too much - just until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl
- Let dough rise in a warm place for one hour or so until doubled.
- Punch down dough and divide in half.
- It's still VERY sticky, and should be, don't knead flour into it. Shape the dough into 2 small rounded oval loaves. Place on parchment paper on a pan.
- Let dough rest about 5 – 10 minutes.
- Melt the butter and brush over the top of the loaves. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tablespoon of rosemary and coarse salt over the loaves.
- Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes. In the meantime preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Recipe Video
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These look so good! I’m a carb lover, too (and a bit of a rosemary addict), so thanks for sharing. I thought I’d been following your blog for a while, only to discover today that I wasn’t getting updates. I have a lot of catching up to do, but now I’m definitely a follower!
Oh me too, I always have fresh rosemary around and use it in a ton of recipes! I wish UT was better suited to grow my own! Glad your catching up!
your bread looks so good too! And that herb chopper looks like something I definitely need to get. 🙂
I LOVE my herb chopper! Best self bought birthday gift ever!
I made this last night. So easy and yummy. Mine turned out a little flat, only about 1/2″- 1″ I’m not sure if it’s because it was a little chilly or because I used active yeast and sugar. any idea?
Hmmmm is your yeast old? Or maybe did you play with the dough after you shaped the two balls? they air pops so easily it flattens if you play with it too much??? It’s a very sticky STICKY dough, maybe kneading in too much flour? Again I am NOT a bread expert, ask me about cake and I can give you better answers 😉 Maybe with it begin cold it needed more rise time… So lots of guesses no real answers! Sorry!~
This looks FANTASTIC! I can’t wait to try it! I’m hosting a brand new linky party on my blog, Organizing Homelife, and I would love for you to link up this post!
http://www.organizinghomelife.com/simply-sensational-tuesday-linky-party-1/
Thanks! I love bread and rosemary so it’s the perfect combo.
Hmm Maybe it was too much flour. Yesterday I tried to make a different bread and it was very STICKY, didn’t rise at all. My rolls turned out like bricks. A very sad morning. The yeast was still in date too. But both times it was cold in the house?? A coworker gave me a bread maker that she had just sitting around. Lucky for me it has a dough setting. So I tried it and the bread looks amazing. Maybe i’ll just have to use that from now on. At least it’s a controlled temp. maybe?? thanks for your help. I love your blog.
honestly I really don’t know much about it. I bet there is an AMAZING bread blogger out there that knows all the secrets! I still have trouble with my cakes falling here on the mountain I live on! It’s amazing what a difference a mountain vs sea level does to baking.
What a beautiful loaf…I love rosemary rolls. Saving this for later. xo, Catherine
thank you so much! I love rosemary too, esp in breads!
I don’t have a standing mixer (and, therefore, no hooks). Any idea on what a manual kneading would do/need to be to reach the equivalent?
it’s all about getting the texture right, so until its smooth and elastic, it will be very very VERY sticky, don’t over add flour