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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Raisin Rosemary Bread

This bread is what I would call a little bit unexpected.  It uses bread flour...regular old white bread flour...and yet it is dense and chewy, deeply flavorful and brown!  And while it's true that the heady, piney rosemary threaded throughout the bread is a major contributor to the "deeply flavorful" factor (not to mention the intoxicating smell it emits), it's actually the humble raisin that plays the star in this loaf.  Bruised and battered into submission, the pulpy raisin spreads its stickiness...its essence...to every last inch of this bread.

Unexpected.  In a glorious way.
Raisin Rosemary Bread
As I've been doing a lot lately, I turned this recipe around a bit so that I could let my bread machine do all of the heavy work in the beginning.  You can just as easily change the order of things to mix it by hand (since that was how the original recipe was written).  If you do it by hand, you may will want to run your knife through the raisins a few times to "open them up", so that they still give the bread that gorgeous color, perfume, and flavor throughout.
adapted from Jamie's Kitchen
yield: 1 loaf

2 c. tepid water + more as needed
1 Tbs. honey
just over 1 lb. (3-4 c.) bread flour + more as needed
1 Tbs. salt
scant 2 Tbs. instant yeast
~⅓ c. fresh rosemary leaves
~9 oz. (~1½ c.) raisins
Add the ingredients in the order listed from water through yeast to the pan of your bread machine and select dough cycle.  Adjust water and/or flour as needed until your dough is neither sticky nor dry...it should be just "tacky".  Add raisins and rosemary to pan just once everything is mixed correctly and just as it starts to knead the ingredients together.  Let cycle run (and rise).

Turn dough out onto a floured counter and knead for a few minutes by hand.  Form into either a free-form round or long loaf and place on a baking sheet that has been dusted with flour.  Alternately, oil a loaf pan really well, form dough into a cylinder and place in pan.  Cover lightly with a greased film of plastic or a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, ~45 minutes - 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350° F during last 15 or 20 minutes of rise time.
Score the length of the bread with a sharp knife, stick a sprig of rosemary in (if you wish) and slide into preheated oven.  Depending on how  you formed  your loaf, bake for anywhere from 25-50 minutes, until golden and crisp.  It seems to take longer to bake if it is in a loaf pan.  If I had to recommend a shape, I'd go with a free form or banneton-formed loaf (it has a tendency of sticking to the pan if baked in one).

This loaf is extremely fragrant and somewhat dense.  It reminds me of brown bread.  Very moist and satisfying.  Jamie recommends serving with a Ploughman's lunch or with a Cheddar cheese sandwich and tangy pickles.  I decided to make a grilled cheese using Extra Sharp cheddar.  I ate it with tangy pickles and washed it down with some dark ale.  It was heaven!  The salty, gooey cheese was the perfect compliment to the sweet, yet herbaceous, hearty bread.
LetsGetNaked

I am also sharing this post with:
*Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge: Red Star Yeast
*Yeastspotting!
BYOB-badge RSIron-1 weekend cooking

Would you like to comment?

  1. This looks delicious....I bet it taste that good...Yummy..Thanks for the recipe dear...

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  2. Un pan perfecto, te ha quedado de 10.

    Saludos

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  3. Great minds!
    Lovely loaf, just delicious!

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  4. Look at how dark it is Heather, it's hard to believe ut is made with white flour just as you said.

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  5. I would never expect raisins and rosemary to be a good mix but I guess it is!!

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  6. Heatherm this bread looks amazing! And I bet that combo flavor os the raisins and the rosemary its just insanely good.

    Maria @ A Platter of Figs

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  7. AmazinG! Now I need to go get my bread machine out of storage! Seriously!!!

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  8. Beautiful loaf! I can only imagine the rosemary flavors, plus the cheese!

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  9. OMG that looks good. But I have to be honest that anything with rosemary in it wins my heart every time. I made half wheat / half white today.

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  10. This bread look so pretty and I love that the inside is sticky with raisins.

    Wish I could take a bite of that grilled cheese sandwich!

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  11. Me enamoraste con el sandwich... me enamoraste y sabor a romero, más mm... !!!!!!!!
    Saludos, fotos apetecibles.

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  12. Absolutely gorgeous bread and that grill cheese looks magical!

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  13. That looks very good! I would have thought it was whole wheat with as dark as it is. The grilled cheese looks perfect!

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  14. Okay, I know protocol insists that I talk about this gorgeous loaf, butII can see is that grilled cheese sandwich. I have been blinded to all other sandwiches the rest of my life. GREG

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  15. I never would have thought to pair rosemary with raisins, but this actually sounds good! It is really pretty too. Nice job, Heather!

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  16. I have never tried raisins and rosemary together, but I think I may like it. Love the picture of the cheesy goodness!

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  17. Flavourful bread,luks so soft and delicious...

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  18. Fantastic recipe!!! Love the grilled sandwich with this scrumptious looking bread...excellent!!!

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  19. It is a beautiful loaf of bread and it looks like it makes a wonderful sandwich. Great pick! ;-)

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  20. Absolutely beautiful...thank you!

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  21. Heather,
    Thank you for you nice comment. I was way in Portugal, visiting my family and going to the beach, what a great summer. I wish I was more like you, you never stop, there are always new recipes and ideas, great posts... I was too lazy to as much as take my laptop with me =D (Im guessing it will take sometime to read all your new posts..)

    I really liked this recipe, I ve tried bread with rosemary, but no raisins, Im curious =D

    I hope you have had a good Summer with your family, have a great week!

    hugs

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  22. That is one gorgeous loaf of bread! Raisins and rosemary? That is such an unexpected combination for me to consider; however, I know that YOU know good food so I definitely want to try this. I'm pinning this and hoping to sweet talk the baker in the family into making it for me. Thanks!

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  23. Even though I literally *just* ate breakfast, these pictures are already making me hungry again! That grilled cheese looks like it would taste amazing... With some tomato soup on the side? Heaven!

    ~Lizzy

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  24. Between you and natashya, I am SWOONING over this bread! The raisin and rosemary combo is one that I would never have thought of but it does sound amazing!

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  25. I worked at a restaurant years ago that would always use raisin bread to make their grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. I can vouch that it makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches. The sweet and savory!

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  26. I love bread baked with raisins. With rosemary is something new. It looks wonderful.

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  27. Wow, that does look and sound like a really flavorful bread. And I love that you used the bread machine. Thanks a Latte' for linking up to the Iron Chef Challenge this month!

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  28. Simplemente excelente para un sandwich tostado, habrá que dejar a breadmachine que haga el amasado jeje

    Gracias

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  29. That grill cheese is making my mouth water. Reminds me of the Grill cheese food truck we have here in LA.

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  30. What an unusual yet delicious bread recipe. And that grilled cheese? DROOL-WORTHY! Thank you so much for sharing, sweet friend!

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  31. Your blog is fantastic! Do you have any posts about Foodsaver machines? Check out my blog and let me know what you think...If you'd like I can send you some free samples if you want to try? Let me know :) Amanda

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