Hi Group,
Last week I was sitting in my barber's chair and the subject turned from
cooking to bread baking. He asked if I had ever been to a local Italian
restaurant and had any of their Rosemary Bread. He was impressed, so I
tried a lunch there later in the week.
The waitress brought the menu and then came back with a medium sized loaf
of bread, poured some olive oil into a saucer and proceeded to grind a few
grinds of black pepper into the olive oil.
After telling me the specials of the day, she departed. I grabbed the loaf
and tore off an end. The smell was pungent, and the first bite divine.
I thought I had died and gone to Italian bread baker's heaven. I devoted
more time to the bread than the spinach salad with grilled portobello
mushrooms, blue cheese, walnuts and a slightly sweet vinegar and oil
dressing.
I ate only about half the loaf, requested a bag for the other half and
have been determined to duplicate it. Three tries later, I'm still not
close. There was definitely rosemary, possibly some basil (those were the
only two hints I could get out of the waitress), maybe some black pepper
and it came with a soft crust. I think olive oil was the oil of choice
for the recipe, but again only a guess.
If anybody out there has any super Rosemary or Italian recipes, I would
certainly appreciate the recipes. It was not a focaccia or flat bread. It
looked as if it had been cooked on a stone and was soft of crust.
Help!
Mike in Sacramento