Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Artisan Bread. - Harvest & Nourish (2024)

Top-Rated Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Artisan Bread

Makes 1 loaf; prep time 18 hours 40 minutes.

You can find additional notes on steps, baking tools and tips for beginners here.

Ingredients:

RoastedGarlic

1 head garlic

Extra-virginoliveoil

Sea saltandfreshly ground black pepper

Slice thegarlichead in half. Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and roast on a baking sheet at 400ºF (204ºC) for 40 minutes. Let cool, remove cloves from their skins and set aside.

Bread

1½ cups water (360 grams), room temperature (at or near 70°F/21°C)

1 teaspoon (3 grams) active dry yeast

3 cups (390 grams) bread or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

½ teaspoon (0.5 grams) dried oregano

1 teaspoon (6 grams) kosher or fine sea salt

2 teaspoons (3.4 grams) finely chopped rosemary (plus more to sprinkle across the top)

1 whole head roasted garlic (smashed)

1 tablespoon (14 grams) extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Add the yeast to the water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. While the yeast is activating, stir together flour, oregano, salt and rosemary in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add yeast mixture, roasted garlic and olive oil to the bowl then use a rubber spatula to mix it together just until combined. The dough will look a little sticky and stringy and there should still be a little flour around the edges of the bowl.

3. Cover and let rise somewhere warm (see note below) until it has doubled in size, about 8-10 hours.

4. Once the dough has doubled in volume, use your hands (or a dough scraper if you have one) to pull the dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, gently fold the dough into itself several times until a soft, flour-covered ball is formed. Seam side up, lift and place it into a flour dusted proofing bowl like this one. Dust with flour, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as 24 hours. You can even leave it for as long as 48 hours at this point if you’re not able to bake it right away.

5. When you're ready to bake your bread, preheat oven to 450ºF (232ºC) with a Dutch oven or covered baking vessel inside the oven.

6. Uncover then invert the bowl to turn the dough out onto parchment paper seam side down. If needed, gently turn it with your hands and nudge it into the shape of a loaf. Score the top with a razor blade or the tip of a sharp knife with a design of your choosing. This will allow steam to escape while it’s baking.

7. Once the oven is preheated, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the dough, still on the parchment, into the Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 15-20 minutes more. Your bread will be done once the top is browned, and it sounds hollow when you tap the top.

8. Using parchment edges, lift bread from Dutch oven and transfer it to a wire cooling rack to let cool for up to an hour before slicing.

Notes:

Roasted garlic: You can use as much or as little roasted garlic as you like. Should you choose to add ½ the garlic, wrap the rest in foil or place it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge to use later.

Rise time and temperature: An ambient rise temperature somewhere between ~70º-75º/20º-23ºC is ideal but even high 60's/18º-19ºC should work if the dough is kept away from drafts. Note that rise times can vary based on temperature, environment and ingredients used. You will know your loaf is ready to bake when it has doubled in size, and this can take a minimum of 2-3 hours or as long as a full day. With a little experimentation, you will find the time frame that works best for you.

Storage: This bread will store well on the counter for 2-3 days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. Sliced bread will freeze well for up to 3 months.