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A sweet blogging friend, Debbi, mentioned rosemary bread the other day and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I decided to try to recreate the rosemary bread at Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
Lucky for me, many have already tried to do that. I found a recipe here at food.com and tweaked it just a bit. I have made this a few times now and I am happiest with this variation. Dipped in extra virgin olive oil and cracked pepper, this bread is addictive.
This bread is a bit heartier than the bread that Macaroni Grill serves. If you are aiming for a closer copy of the well-known bread, use all AP flour instead of whole wheat.
For what it’s worth, the 100% whole wheat version that I made was tasty, but the wheat taste overpowered the rosemary much more than I expected. It also created a heavier bread.
I was aiming for a lighter bread and using AP flour in combination with the whole wheat accomplished that goal. I love this recipe now and it is frequently requested by friends.
Rosemary Bread with Whole Wheat
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup whole wheat flour I used freshly ground hard white wheat
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- olive oil
- crushed sea salt
- extra virgin olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper - for dipping
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl for the kitchenaid mixer, combine the water, yeast and sugar. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes, until it is foamy or bubbly.
- Mix in 1 tablespoon of melted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, the flours and 1 tablespoon of chopped rosemary. Knead with the dough hook on the mixer for 5 minutes or by hand for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Coat a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and divide in half. Allow it to rise a few more minutes while you thoroughly coat a large baking sheet with olive oil.
- Shape the dough into two round loaves and sprinkle the tops of the loaves with remaining chopped rosemary. Press the herbs lightly into the surface of the bread.
- Let the loaves rise again, until doubled in size, approximately 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a large spatula, transfer the loaves to a wire cooling rack. Brush with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with crushed sea salt. The sea salt is a crucial step. You could probably substitute kosher salt, but whatever you do, do not skip the salt on top of the loaves. It imparts a great flavor to the finished bread.
- When you are ready to serve the bread, crack some black pepper onto a small plate and drizzle with olive oil. Dip the bread into the oil mixture and enjoy!
I've been looking for a great rosemary bread recipe to use some of the rosemary from my garden before the first frost takes it. I was also thinking about adding some oven roasted tomatoes too. Your bread looks fantastic. Olive oil – yes, thank you!
Looks fantastic! I love rosemary bread, especially Macaroni Grills version.
Ooo, that DOES look delicious, I might have to make that tonight :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
That looks like the bread and dip we get at a fancy Italian restaurant we go to when we are in Pittsburgh.
Mmm looks perfect. I'm all about a heartier bread. 🙂
Your bread looks terrific! I love that you made it with whole wheat flour -it's always the best.
It looks like a wonderful bread, reminiscent of a focaccia. Cooler weather here means more bread baking to be done!
Oh now this bread just looks awesome! I buy Rosemary bread often but your recipe just looks delicious!!
Yum! I've never made homemade bread before because I always thought it was too difficult to make. Your recipe seems simple to make so I should try it soon!
Your rosemary bread looks so yummie! Nice crumb…love the smell of bread baking in the oven.
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
This looks incredible! I love that macaroni grill bread. Rosemary is one of my favorite flavors.
Delish!
Yummy bread!! gloria
Your bread is beautiful. It looks so yummy!
your bread looks absolutely wonderful!!!
Whole wheat makes it so healthy too.
Great recipe..
I cant beleive it.I made thsi today.Only difference I had it with eggplant tapenade.Yummy he;))
Okay now I won't be able to get this bread out of my head until I make it! Thanks a lot 🙂
I love bread with Rosemary, now i planting rosemary, soon i can make this kind of bread. Thanks for sharing.
Love Rosemary bread….I might try this with the white whole wheat flour that I have been using – it's a nice compromise and I guess it's as healthy as regular whole wheat – although I still have a hard time believing it. I love Macaroni Grill's bread and we love to dip in EVOO…yum.
this looks wonderful. Rosemary is the perfect herb especially when you are talking bread… whole wheat bread. I love it. I mean whats not to love. thanks
Laura @ A Healthy Jalapeño