Rosemary Sea Salt Bread Loaf

IMG_0933.JPG

I don’t think I can totally describe to you how much joy it gives me to make (and gift!) bread. If you’ve read this blog post, you know my process and tools, and that I use Ken Forkish’s method and ingredient ratios no matter what type of bread loaf I’m making. I’ve made jalapeno cheddar bread before, but this time I wanted to try my hand at a different type of bread loaf with inclusions, recreating one of our favorite baguettes we normally get at a local grocery store: rosemary sea salt.

If you’re thinking YUM, you are correct 😉

IMG_0935.JPG

ingredients

Before you start, don’t forget to get Ken Forkish’s book Flour Water Salt Yeast. So many great recipes and tips and tricks throughout!

Here’s what I used to make two rosemary sea salt bread loaves:

method

  • Mix flour and water by hand, cover and let sit for 20-30 minutes

  • Remove rosemary leaves from sprigs and chop roughly (it’s best to have a mix of large and small pieces!)

  • Add sea salt, yeast, and fresh rosemary and fold in using Ken’s pincer method; let sit for a few minutes and then fold for another 30 seconds.

  • Do your first fold in the first 10 minutes after mixing. Take the corners and fold them into the center. Once all corners are folded in, lift up the dough and flip it over so the bottom becomes the top.

  • Let sit and do another fold and flip in about an hour.

  • After your second fold, let the dough sit until it is roughly 3x in size, about 5 hours after mixing

  • Once triple in size, the dough is ready to be divided. Pour out of the bin onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal sizes (you can eyeball this!).

  • With each dough ball, fold the corners into the middle and flip it so the bottom becomes the top. Cup the back of the dough ball with your hands and drag it on the countertop toward you to form a tighter ball.

  • Generously flour your proofing baskets and place each dough ball in its respective basket. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of flour and let rise for about an hour and 15 minutes.

  • About 45 minutes prior to baking, heat up your oven to 475 degrees with your dutch oven inside, lid on.

  • 20 minutes before you bake the first loaf, place the second loaf in the refrigerator.

  • Carefully remove the dutch oven and place one dough ball in the dutch oven. Carefully put the lid back on and place it back into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and then bake for another 15 minutes.

  • Once your first loaf is done, repeat the baking method with your second loaf.

  • Enjoy!

If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it! And check out my video below to see how I made these super yummy bread loaves.

Classic Gingerbread Loaf

Look how pretty this loaf is! Totally a holiday classic.

This Gingerbread Loaf is soft and delicious and the perfect way to wrap up the holiday season (although I think I may carry this holiday cheer a little further with me into 2021).

The recipe from Tastes of Lizzy T really is so moist and perfectly spiced. Top it with some powdered sugar and your favorite butter (Tillamook for me!), and you have yourself a deeeelicious treat or dessert (or, let’s be honest — both).

Find the recipe in my video below and on Tastes of Lizzy T’s website!

Christmas Star Twisted Bread

I think this is probably my favorite bread I’ve made in 2020. So beautiful and forgiving. Truly, this bread looks quite complicated but it’s not.

I’ll admit, when I first saw this recipe, I thought “yeah, right. That looks too complicated.” I’m all about ease and not stressing when it comes to baking and bread making. And to give this even more color, I definitely don’t pay attention to {most} instructions that make you separate ingredients before combining 😬 For me, it’s all goin’ to the same place!

So I thought this recipe was going to be way harder than it actually is based on how beautiful it is! They say this in the recipe, but it really is a ‘no fuss’ bread. If you watch the video I made (shared below!), you’ll see that none of my layers were even and it still turned out fairly perfectly. 🙌🏻 That said, I diiiiiid ask for a silicon pastry mat with measuring circles for Christmas so when I make this or other breads in the future, they’re more perfectly circular. Can’t win ‘em all when you’re a bit of a perfectionist 😉

Anyways, this bread is not only beautiful, but it’s also delicious. I used a raspberry jam for the filling, but customized it to add brown sugar between each layer and blended up some fresh raspberries to give it an extra kick.

It is great as a breakfast or dessert bread (we miiiight have had it as both in one 24-hour period multiple times).

Check out my video below and Taste of Home’s website for the full recipe ❤️