Richard Boosey writes:
>Does anyone have a recipe using fresh rosemary (the plant is beside the
>kitchen door) and perhaps dried tomatoes that would make a hardy breadstick?
Here is a recipe from my files, for rosemary breadsticks. I have many
recipes for Rosemary and one of my favorites is in the Claiborne Bread
Book, see below.
Adele
ROSEMARY & THYME BREADSTICKS
2 cups bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons quick-rising yeast
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
3/4 cup (about) warm water (120F to 130F)
Mix flour, salt and yeast in processor. Add rosemary, thyme, honey and oil.
Gradually blend in enough water to bind dough together. Process until dough
forms ball, about 30 seconds longer. Turn dough out onto work surface.
Knead until smooth abd elastic, about 2 minutes. Lightly oil large bowl.
Add dough; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then a
towel. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free area until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough. Divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each dough piece
between palms and work surface into 12-inch-long by 1/2-inch-wide rope.
Arrange ropes on 2 large, heavy baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Let
rise uncovered in warm draft-free area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325F. Bake until breadsticks are very crisp and pale
golden, about 40 minutes. Transfer breadsticks to racks and cool.
Makes 16. Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Each breadstick has:
57 calories
1 gram total fat
0.5 gram saturated fat
0 cholesterol.
ROSEMARY-GARLIC BREAD
from "Breads" by Bernard Clayton
(two medium loaves)
Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups bread or unbleached flour (approx.)
2 packages dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups hot water (120F to 130F)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (or 1 tablespoon dried)
Baking Pans
2 medium (8" x 4") bread pans, greased or Teflon
Mixing
In a mixing bowl or mixer bowl measure 1 cup each whole wheat and white
flours. Stir in the yeast, salt, and black pepper and blend. Add the hot
water and olive oil, and beat 50 strong strokes with a wooden spoon, or for
2 minutes with the mixer flat beater, until the batter is smooth. Stir in
the herbs. Mix well. Measure in 2 cups whole wheat flour and add the
balance of the white flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the batter becomes
dough and forms a rough, shaggy mass.
Kneading
Knead the dough by hand or with a mixer dough hook. If by hand, use a
rhythmic push-turn-fold motion, and occasionally lift the dough from the
table and crash it down onto the work surface. A metal dough blade, as an
extension of the hand, is useful in lifting and turning the dough. Knead
for about 8 minutes by hand or with the dough hook.
First Rising
Drop the dough into a greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Put
either in a warm place (90F) for 30 minutes, until doubled in bulk, or
leave at room temperature for about 1 hour. (If prepared with a new
fast-rising yeast at the recommended higher temperature, reduce the rising
times by half.)
Shaping
Punch down the dough. Divide in half. Roll each half into a ball and put
aside to rest for 5 minutes. Press each ball into an oval, roughly the
length of the pan. Fold lengthwise, press the seam together, and place in
the prepared pan, seam down.
Second Rising
Cover the pans with wax paper or a Teflon sheet, and leave to rise until
double in bulk, about 1 hour. The dough will reach the height of the pan.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 400F for 20 minutes before baking. (If using a
convection oven reduce heat by 50F.) Uncover the pans and place on the
middle shelf of the oven. Bake until the loaf is a deep brown and crusty,
35 to 40 minutes. Turn one loaf from its pan and tap the bottom crust with
your fingernail. The bread is done if it sounds hollow and hard.
Final Step
Turn the loaves onto a metal rack to cool before slicing. The bread is
delicious toasted, and can be kept frozen at 0F for a year.