I’ve been craving food comforts lately. As the weather cools, my desire for bread increases. No longer content to breakfast on yoghurt, toast with homemade jams becomes the morning fix I need to start the day.
Blessed with an abundance of fresh rosemary and lemons from a recent commercial shoot, I was determined to make use of both so that there was no wastage. So, couple that with my ever growing desire for bread, I decided that freshly baked lemon and rosemary bread was on the cards.
I’m all for simple, so this yeasted bread is quick to throw together, and requires only patience for a double rise. The resulting bread is indescribably fragrant and delicious.
It is an interesting flavour profile to get your tongue around. Both lemon and rosemary are used in savoury and sweet combinations in recipes, so the resulting bread provides a heady mix of both sweet and savoury scents. It is a savoury bread though, so when eaten warm and dipped in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of salt, it is a winning combination.
Also delicious is toasting up a few slices a couple of days later, and using it for a lamb steak sandwich. The lamb pairs beautifully with the lemon and rosemary.
Homemade Lemon and Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
- 500g bread flour
- 7g active dried yeast
- 300ml tepid water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- Zest of three lemons
Directions
Combine flour, yeast, rosemary and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Add the olive oil and water and mix until a ball of dough forms. Transfer the dough to a floured benchtop and knead for 8 minutes with floured hands until smooth and elastic.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and place somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Once doubles, remove from bowl back and knead for an additional 2-3 minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a well-floured proving basket (or back in a clean floured bowl) for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, preheat oven with a pizza stone (only if you have one) to 200° Celsius (390°F).
Gently turn out bread onto baking paper and lightly slash the top of the loaf with a knife. Transfer the paper to the pizza stone (or a baking tray) in the oven. Spray the loaf with water and bake for 30 minutes until the loaf is golden and sounds hollow when you tap the base.
Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
NOTES
- Chop the rosemary just before you add it to the dough.
- I've used a proving basket for the second prove, but you can easily do this in a bowl instead (see post end for proving basket credit) - I also didn't flour my proving basket enough so next time will do this so that the imprint is more defined.
- I baked my bread on a pizza stone we keep in the oven which helps with the crust - you can just as easily bake this on a tray.
- I also used a water spray to mist the loaf and oven just as it went in to help with the rise and crust of the bread.
Chew Town was not paid to develop this recipe, but was gifted the proving basket from Kitchen Craft with thanks. To read Chew Town’s disclosure policy please visit the About page.
What a lovely sounding bread, I don’t bake bread often a loaf is often way to large for the two of us, but I do on occasions and this will be on my list.
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The beauty of this bread is that I kept it in the fridge after the first couple of days for a whole week and it was great – just needed a little toasting later on 😉
I envy bakers, especially bread bakers. It’s such an art and science too. I’ll give this one a whirl and let you know how it goes.
I wouldn’t call myself a real baker as I’m no where near making a sourdough!! But, these yeasty breads are so easy because all you need is a little time.
There’s nothing better than freshly baked bread, gorgeous photos!
Thanks Renee, I agree – the smell of this fragrant bread was in the house for at least 24 hours!
My craving for real bread (as we know it) has never been as strong as it has in the last nine months of travelling through South and Central America. They do bread so differently here and a lot of it has way too much sugar. I can only dream of eating this stunning bread you’ve made, and with lemon and rosemary, it’s only made better.
I can only imagine! Can’t wait till you get to Europe… you’ll be able to eat ALL THE BREAD! xx
Lemon? Rosemary? Bread? Sold! Looks terrific, and I’ll bet the flavor is superb. Thanks!
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I really enjoy your blog and the ingredients you put together. However, I must say I’m in the USA and find some of your measurements challenging.. For example, in the wonderful sounding Lemon Rosemary Bread our yeast comes in packets of 1/4 oz. or net wt. 21 grams. Would I attempt to figure out what 9 grams is from this packet? Thanks. I would appreciate any feedback.
Hi Marianne,
Thanks for your message. When baking, whether bread or cakes, for the best results, I would always suggest investing in a set of electronic scales. They usually aren’t very expensive and can convert between Oz and Grams. You will have far better results that way. Based in Australia, I appreciate that our measurements don’t always convert to yours, but that is why I have a measurements section on the blog and measurement conversations can also be easily googled. I hope that helps.
Amazing recipe, Look’s good, Thanks for sharing.
This is so good. We paired it with beef and it also paired wonderfully with the lemon and rosemary.