A touch of rosemary

Rosemary is my only plant that survived the attack of Mr. Pat the Possum some time back. It has grown well, and I do hope it will endure the long winter ahead. Rosemary is one of my favourite herbs. And I am sure a lot of you love it, too. But do you know rosemary is an ancient symbol of remembrance and fidelity? A little search on the internet yields quite a number of interesting articles about this. It’s pleasant to know that rosemary has always been a favourite through time.

Rosemary is most used in savoury dishes and bakes. But today I will use this herb in a sweet bread. Originated from Tuscany, the bread pairs rosemary with raisin, and it proves to be a wonderful combination. It has the right level of sweetness from the raisin and the aroma of the rosemary is just fantastic. Enriched with eggs and olive oil, the bread remains soft and nice for at least three days.

Serve this with butter or mild cheese, you will find yourself coming back for another slice. This is one of the best recipes I have come across, and I will surely make it again and again. Highly recommended for everyone! Don't worry if you are not a raisin fan like me. The flavour of raisin is pretty mild in this bread, making it much more enjoyable.

I would like to submit this post to Weekend Herb Blogging. Created by Kalyn, it is currently hosted by Ulrike from Kuchenlatein this week. Please check out the round up later.

Rosemary Raisin Bread

Recipe from this book

Ingredients (yield 2 round loaves)

2 tsp dried yeast

100ml warm water

450g strong white flour*

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp milk powder

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

225g raisin

4 tbsp olive oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Sprinkle the yeast into the water in a bowl. Leave for 5 mins then stir to dissolve.

Mix flour, salt, milk powder in a large bowl. Add the yeast liquid and the remaining ingredients. Mix to form a dough (adjust water or flour if needed). Knead until the dough is silky, springy and elastic. (This takes about 10 mins by hand).

Put the dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Gently turn the dough into an oiled surface. Rotate the dough in a circle, applying downward pressure to the side, cupping the dough with the inside of your hand. Do this gently until the dough is smooth and round. Cover and leave for 10 mins.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape into a round loaf. Put on the oiled baking tray. Cover and leave for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 200C. Cut a slash 1cm deep across the top of each loaf, then another in the opposite direction to make an ‘X’.

Bake each loaf for 45 mins, until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

(*): If you are in Australia, I recommend using Wallaby Bakers Flour for your white bread. I have used quite a few brands, and this bread flour provides the best result. Recently, my local Coles supermarket has started to stock it. It normally comes in 5kg package and you can use it for varieties of bread and pizza. My local grocery also carries the organic range, but it comes in 10kg package so I haven't tried it out yet.

A touch of rosemary