Rustic Rosemary Bread (a la Macaroni Grill)

Anyone who's had the pleasure of dining at Macaroni Grill has had the experience of this bread. They bring the hot fragrant loaves straight from the oven to your table endlessly. Imagine my delight when I realized how easy it was to recreate at home! Yeast breads can be a bit daunting, but for the most part I would consider this a fool-proof recipe.

Chock full of rosemary, chewy soft on the inside and buttery brown on the outside, the only way to top that is to tear off a piece and dip it in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and cracked black pepper. Serving it on the side of this dish makes my life complete.

Rustic Rosemary Bread

{Recipe from Mels Kitchen Cafe}

1 T instant yeast or 1 1/2 T active dry yeast

1 T sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 3/4-3 1/2 cups flour (I was good at 3 1/4 cups)

1 1/2 t kosher salt

1 1/2 T dried rosemary, chopped

1/2 t garlic powder

2 T butter, melted

coarse salt for sprinkling (kosher or sea salt)

Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in the bowl of mixer. Let stand 5 minutes. With paddle attachment on low, add salt and 2 cups of flour. Mix for 2 minutes. Add dried rosemary and mix. Add remaining flour, a little at a time, until a soft dough that clears the sides of the bowl is formed. The dough should be a little tacky while still being smooth and soft. Knead dough using dough hook for another 4-5 minutes. You may add a little extra flour as needed during this time.

Allow dough to raise in a lightly greased and covered bowl until doubled in size, between 1-2 hours (mine was ready at 1). Once doubled, gently deflate the dough and divide into 2 equal parts. Shape each dough ball into a round loaf and place on a silpat lined baking sheet, side by side with plenty of room in between. Using a brush, slather the 2 T of melted butter equally over each loaf. Continue brushing until butter is gone, the loaves will be saturated. Cover the loaves with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow to rise until nearly doubled again, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Carefully remove plastic wrap from loaves and sprinkle each loaf with a little bit of coarse salt. Bake loaves for 14-20 minutes until browned and baked through. Remove from baking sheet and serve warm with a mixture of equal parts extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and some fresh ground black pepper for dipping. We like to just tear chunks off our loaf to dip, but you could always slice it.

Multigrain Bread

This my friends is our new favorite homemade bread recipe. It's wholesome and healthy, chock full of the goodness of 7 grain hot cereal, wheat flour, and a touch of sweetness. It's hardy and makes superb toast and sandwiches. And although it's a double raise special with an hour of letting the cereal soften before you really get started, it's not fussy and so far has turned out consistently great results for me. And I'm no yeast bread pro! Definitely worth the effort and perfect for a cold winter's day indoor project.

Multigrain Bread

{Recipe from Our Best Bites. Makes 2 loaves}

1 1/4 cups seven-grain HOT cereal mix (make sure it's marked "hot", I found my in the bulk organic section)

2 1/2 cups boiling water

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

NOTE: I opted to use all wheat flour, a combo of white wheat and regular whole

1/4 cup honey

4 T butter, melted and cooled a bit

2 1/2 t instant or rapid-rise yeast (I think active dry would work fine, if you find yourself without instant)

Slightly less than a full Tablespoon kosher salt

Optional: 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

Place cereal in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle and pour boiling water over it. Let stand, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour. Should resemble thick porridge. Mix flours together in a separate bowl.

Once grain mixture is ready, add honey, butter, and yeast. Mix on low until combined. Add 2 cups of mixed flour and mix for 2 minutes. Remove paddle and attach dough hook. Add remaining flour a 1/2 cup at a time until dough is tacky but not sticky. I found that I used all the flour every time. Cover bowl rightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on med-low for another 5-7 minutes. Add seeds (if using) and knead another 20 seconds. Knead by hand (5 or so turns) into a smooth round ball. Place in lightly greased bowl (i reuse the mixer bowl), cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Grease 2 loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly sprayed surface. Divide in half (I cut mine). Shape each chunk of dough into a loaf shape. Place in greased bread pan and spray lightly with cooking spray. Gently press a generous amount of rolled oats on top of each loaf. Cover lightly and let raise 40 minutes.

30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375. Bake until loaves register 200 degrees on a thermometer placed in the middle of one loaf, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Removed loaves from pans and continue to cool on wire rack. Slice and serve. Store in bread bags. Baked loaves may be wrapped well and frozen.

30-Minute French Baguettes

If you're looking for the quickest way to get fresh from the oven french bread onto your dinner table look no further. This is the perfect recipe for not-planning ahead or no extra time homemade bread. I have a great regular method french bread recipe I shall share sometime, but for now if you just want it in a hurry give this a try.

Because it isn't allowed much rising time, it's a much more dense bread. I happen to love that characteristic in a bread and it holds up extremely well to being dipped in thick delicious soup. Which is precisely what we did and you're gonna love that recipe when it's shared in the next post. My mouth waters!

30-Minute French Baguettes

{Recipe from Barefoot and Baking}

2 cups very warm but not boiling hot water

2 1/4 t yeast

2 T honey

1 1/2 t salt

4 cups+ flour

Preheat oven to 425. In bowl of mixer combine very warm water, yeast, and honey. Give it a quick stir and then let sit for 10 minutes until yeast it bubbly. Turn mixer on, add salt, and 2 cups of flour. Mix for 2 minutes. Add 1 more cup flour and mix. Switch to dough hook and add approximately one more cup of flour. Dough should be soft and tacky, but not sticky. Knead in mixture about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Remove dough ball from bowl, knead by hand a few times, adding a light bit more flour if you think it needs it.

Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece into a rope, about 10-12 inches long. Twist 2 pieces together, pinching ends to secure. Place 2 twists side by side on cookie sheet and you can either pop straight into the oven or if you have some more time allow to raise briefly until ready to bake (15-30 minutes is good). Bake at 425 for 15-18 until light golden. Brush with butter straight out of oven and serve.

TIP: Place a cookie sheet on the very bottom rack of oven and after placing bread dough cookie sheet on middle rack, toss about 4 cups of ice cubes onto the bottom rack cookie sheet and immediately close door. This is supposed to help create the crust that french bread is famous for!

Cheesy Rhodes Roll Pull-Aparts

I grew up on Rhodes rolls. Every sunday for dinner we had them. Some may snub their noses at a store bought dough, but come on people! We all know making bread from scratch on a regular basis isn't in the cards for most people, especially when the rest of the menu looms before you. So there is a place for rhodes rolls in everyone's life. And this preparation method means there's a frequent place for them in ours. Not to mention the beauty of it is that you can mix and match flavorings and cheeses for any number of other flavor combinations. Visit your freezer section for a bag of roll dough today...you'll thank me tomorrow!

Cheesy Rhodes Roll Pull-Aparts

12-14 frozen rhodes rolls, thawed but not risen and cut in half (or quartered if using texas style)

1/2 cup of butter, melted

3 green onions, chopped

1-2 cups grated cheese, colby jack is our go-to

Johnny's Salad Elegance seasoning (or another comparable brand)

Optional: bacon bits, homemade is best

Once frozen rolls have thawed enough to be soft, but before they raise, cut each roll in half. Coat each half with melted butter and place in greased 9X13 baking dish. Spread around a bit so they're evenly distributed. You want the pan to be fairly crowed so the rolls will raise "up" instead of "out". Sprinkle generously with salad elegance, green onions, cheese, and bacon bits if using. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise until doubled, just as directions suggest. Bake at 350 for 20+ minutes until golden, but not to crispy. May brush with any leftover melted butter you might have fresh out of the oven. Enjoy!

Possible variation: Garlic bread seasoning, mozzarella cheese, and green onions make a yummy italian meal friendly roll.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Homemade pita is new to my repertoire but it's here to stay. This bread is puffy, soft, flavorful, and even healthful thanks to the whole wheat flour. Fresh from the oven we (or more correctly, I) couldn't stop tearing off pieces and stuffing them into our mouths. The leftovers we kept in the fridge and re-warmed the next day didn't disappoint either. Will definitely be making them again and again and may not be able to do store bought ever again.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

{Recipe from Annie's Eats. These would be terrific stuffed with all kinds of amazing things like gyros for a start. Not to mention they are so great cut into wedges and dipped in hummus, tzatziki sauce, spinach artichoke dip, and the list goes on}

2 1/4 t active dry yeast

1 T honey

1 1/4 cups warm water, divided

1 1/2 cups bread flour, divided

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, divided

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 t salt

Cornmeal, for sprinkling

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water. Stir gently. Whisk 1/4 cup each of bread and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap and return bowl to mixer stand, fitted with dough hook. Add in the remaining 3/4 cup warm water, 1 1/4 cups bread flour, 1 1/2 cups wheat flour, olive oil and salt. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise in a warm draft-free place, until doubled, about 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured surface and punch down dough. Divide into 8 equal parts. Form each into a ball. Flatten each ball and use a rolling pin to gently roll into 6 1/2-7 inch circles. Transfer rounds to a baking sheet lightly dusted with corn meal. Loosely cover rounds with plastic wrap or kitchen towels and let stand at room temp for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

While rounds are raising turn oven onto 500 degrees and place rack in middle position. Place a pizza stone (or cookie sheet) on rack and let heat with oven.

Transfer pitas onto heated cookie sheet or baking stone, about 3 at a time. Bake 2 minutes until puffed and lightly golden and then gently flip and bake for 1 minutes on remaining side. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Naan {Indian Flat Bread}

Mmmm, flatbread! I love all bread products and a good flatbread is no exception. Naan is a traditional Indian flatbread and goes great with curries. It's soft, moist, chewy and tastes terrific with some garlic butter or just plain butter brushed on top while it's warm. It almost ends up being the highlight of the meal. As far as yeast breads go, if you don't feel comfortable in that realm, this is a great place to start or try again. It's no fail and delicious.

Naan {Indian Flatbread}
{slightly adapted recipe from Mels Kitchen Cafe}

3+ cups flour
1 t salt
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
1 t sugar
melted butter mixed with pressed garlic for brushing warm breads

Microwave milk until very warm, not boiling, but more than just warm. Stir in sugar and yeast, let sit for 4-5 minutes until foamy. Pour yeast mixture into mixer bowl and add 2 cups flour and salt. Mix for 2 minutes. Switch to dough hook and add remaining cup + flour a little at a time. Once dough comes together and pulls away from sides of bowl, but is still the tiniest bit tacky and very soft it's ready. Let knead in mixer for 5 minutes. Spray a separate bowl with cooking spray or drizzle with a little oil and add dough ball to bowl. Be sure all sides of dough are covered with oil. Place plastic wrap over bowl and let rise for 2 hours. The dough will not puff up as much as other yeast doughs, due to the small amount of yeast. But is should be noticeably larger.

Turn out onto greased surface and divide dough into 12 equal pieces, shape into balls. Let dough pieces rest for 30 minutes covered with plastic wrap. During 30 minutes place pizza stone or cookie sheet in oven and turn onto 450 degrees. After 30 minutes are up, roll each dough ball into a 6 inch round with a rolling pin. Keep covered once they're rolled out to prevent drying. One by one, place 3-4 rounds on the hot pizza stone or cookie sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes per side. Peek under bottom and when it's getting brown spots it's time to flip. Once both sides are brown-spotted, remove from oven and brush with melted garlic butter or plain butter. Stack on top of each other, cover with a dish towl, and continue to cook remaining dough rounds.

Serve warm and use for scooping up rice and curry. Coconut Curry Chicken is a great option!