Rosemary Garlic Bread
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Nov. 6, 2026
This rosemary garlic bread is the rustic rosemary bread recipe readers have baked here for over a decade. It’s golden and crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy inside, with roasted garlic kneaded right into the dough. No bread machine needed, and it’s every bit as good as the rosemary bread at Macaroni Grill.
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Amy’s Notes
This is the bread I bake when people are coming over. It comes out golden and crusty, with roasted garlic in every bite, and the loaf is usually gone before anything else is. Here’s what we love:
- No Bread Machine: Knead it by hand or with a stand mixer, the same way we make our crusty French bread recipe. No special equipment needed.
- Crusty Outside, Soft Inside: Made for dunking in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- Feeds a Crowd: One loaf gives you 8 generous slices, which is why it sits at the top of our homemade bread recipes.
- Restaurant Quality: I love that this homemade rosemary bread is as good as (or even better than) the one at Macaroni Grill.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Active dry yeast combines with water, sugar, and salt to add flavor to the dough and provide structure to the bread, creating the fluffy texture we’re looking to achieve.
- Bread flour is then added to the mix to complete the base of the dough. We also use it for our chewy homemade bagels.
- High-quality olive oil is drizzled on top, acting as a tenderizer and keeping your rosemary garlic bread soft.
- Plenty of flavor belongs here! Rosemary, black pepper, oregano, and roasted garlic create a savory flavor that is out-of-this-world delicious.
Substitutions and Variations
- Fresh Rosemary: Fresh works just as well as dried, and the amount stays the same. Roughly chop any long leaves first.
- All-Purpose Flour: It works in a pinch. Your loaf will come out a little softer and less chewy than with bread flour.
- Cheesy Version: Knead in a handful of grated parmesan along with the herbs.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast into 1 cup warm water. Mix in the sugar and salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes or until it foams.
- Add in olive oil. Add flour and knead (by hand or stand mixer/hook) for about 10 minutes.
- Add rosemary, black pepper, and oregano. Knead another 5 minutes. Knead in roasted garlic.
- Place dough ball in oiled bowl, turning dough a few times so that dough surfaces are protected by oil. Tightly cover bowl with cling wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free area to rise until dough is doubled.
- After dough is doubled, gently punch it down and shape into a rounded loaf. Using sharp knife, make a criss-cross design on top. Cover up loaf with large mixing bowl inverted over it and let rise until doubled again.
- After dough has doubled again, very gently brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and a bit more rosemary.
- Bake and let bread rest before cutting into it. Serve warm, with your favorite blend of good olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and balsamic vinegar!
→ For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
Pro Tips for Success
- Be sure your yeast is very fresh to ensure a good rise.
- Let the yeast sit long enough to activate. Otherwise, your bread won’t rise in the oven! You’ll know it’s ready when it begins to foam.
- Measure the ingredients carefully, taking care not to “tap down” flour when measuring. Always use dry measuring cups and the scoop and scrape method as described here.
- You can roast several heads of garlic ahead at a time and keep them airtight in the fridge to use for recipes like this. Roasted garlic can last nicely for up to a week.
- To speed up the rising process, place your rosemary garlic bread in an oven that has been slightly warmed up.
- After 25-30 minutes of baking, bump up the temperature of your oven to 425F, and spray your loaf with water. This will help create that nice thick crust while preventing your bread from burning.
- Every oven bakes slightly differently. So, be sure to keep a close eye on your bread, and remove it from the oven as soon as the top has turned golden brown!
How to Prep Ahead
This delicious bread is best when made and served the same day. However, here are good things to prepare in advance:
- Roasting the garlic ahead of time. This can be done a day or two before you plan to make the bread.
- Dry ingredients and herbs can be measured out 1-2 days beforehand.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. To freeze, wrap the cooled loaf (whole or sliced) tightly and freeze for up to 2 to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then warm in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.
Once you’ve mastered your hand at this bread, you will find this easy pizza dough a breeze for making homemade pizza!
Video: Watch Us Make This Recipe
Rosemary Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water, 110-115F
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons fine salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 head of roasted garlic
- extra olive oil for brushing on top and serving
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top
- clean water in spray bottle
Optional for Serving
- olive oil, extra virgin
- balsamic vinegar, good quality
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast into 1 cup warm water. Mix in the sugar and salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes or until it foams.
- Add in olive oil. Add flour and knead (by hand or stand mixer/hook) for about 10 minutes.
- Add rosemary, black pepper, and oregano. Knead another 5 minutes.
- Gently knead in roasted garlic by hand, about 1 minute. Dough should come together well at this point; slightly sticky is fine, but still should be manageable.
- Place dough ball in well oiled bowl, turning dough a few times so that dough surfaces are protected by oil. Tightly cover bowl with cling wrap.
- Place in a warm, draft-free area to rise until dough is doubled, approx. 1 hour, depending on room temp (if your room is cooler, it could take 2 hours.)
- After dough is doubled, gently punch it down and shape into a rounded loaf. Using sharp knife, make a criss-cross design on top. Place rounded loaf on greased baking sheet.
- Cover up loaf with large mixing bowl inverted over it. Make sure bowl is large enough that it gives your loaf room to rise. Let rise until doubled again, approximately 1 hour.
- After dough has doubled again, very gently brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and a bit more rosemary. Try not to deflate loaf at all.
- Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, spraying loaf with water once during the middle of baking.
- Bump oven up to 425F and spray loaf with water again. Watch carefully and bake just until the top is a nice golden brown, taking care not to over bake (it should be pretty quick).
- Let bread rest 5 minutes before cutting into it. Serve bread fresh and warm, with your favorite blend of good olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and balsamic vinegar!
Equipment
- Dry Measuring Cups, flat-topped
- Spray Bottle, fine mist
Notes
- Substitutions: Fresh rosemary works in place of dried; roughly chop any long leaves first. All-purpose flour works in a pinch, but the loaf will be a little softer and less chewy than with bread flour.
- Prep Ahead: Roast the garlic a day or two before baking, and measure out the dry ingredients and herbs 1 to 2 days ahead. Roasted garlic keeps airtight in the fridge for up to a week.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 to 3 months.
- Be sure your yeast is very fresh, to ensure a good rise. Replace yeast if it’s been sitting in the pantry for a long time. Tip: Store newly purchased yeast in the freezer for longer shelf life.
- Measure ingredients carefully, taking care not to “tap down” flour when measuring. Always use dry measuring cups and use the scoop and scrape method.
- Serve it warm alongside a big bowl of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup or Easy Lasagna Soup.
- This recipe is part of our Savory Bread Recipes Collection.
Nutrition (per serving)
What to Serve with Rosemary Garlic Bread
Soups and Stews
- Tear off a warm slice for dunking into Roasted Tomato Soup or a big bowl of Boeuf Bourguignon.
Pasta Night
- Serve it with Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and use the bread to soak up every last bit.
Dinner with Friends
- It goes perfectly with Chicken Marsala. Set out a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
In general, rustic bread is considered to be a type of bread that is made with simple ingredients including flour, water, salt, and yeast. Furthermore, it is shaped by hand rather than molded with a bread pan and baked at a higher temperature than other loaves. As a result, it has a thick, crusty, flaky exterior and a soft, fluffy interior.
You can absolutely use either dry or fresh rosemary. The amounts will stay the same. If rosemary leaves are very long, you may roughly chop them before use.
Bread flour is our flour-of-choice, as it contains a higher gluten content, which means you’ll enjoy a softer, chewier texture.
The reasons for bread that doesn’t rise well are typically: old yeast that has been sitting in the pantry too long, room temperature being too chilly for a good rise, or using water that was too hot for the yeast to thrive in.
This is most often due to over-proofing, which is when dough has been left out to rise for too long.
This can be due to over-proofed or under-proofed dough during rise time, yeast or bread flour that isn’t super fresh, or an oven that was not preheated long enough. Inaccurate flour to water measurements can also affect the outcome of your loaf.
The bread is done once it has puffed up/risen nicely in the oven and the top is golden brown. Towards the end of baking, start checking to ensure it’s not over-baked (do not open the oven door until it’s done).
This rustic garlic bread recipe is best eaten right away while still warm from the oven. However, on the rare chance you happen to have leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To enjoy, let your frozen bread thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, warm it in the microwave or oven at 300F for 10-15 minutes or until it is soft and heated through.
Our favorite way to devour this recipe is dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar while it’s still warm. However, it would also taste incredible used in a garlicky breakfast sandwich, served alongside roasted butternut squash soup or hearty chili, or used to soak up the sauce from a pan of skillet lasagna!
Yes. Use the dough cycle, knead in the roasted garlic at the end, then shape and bake in the oven as directed.
More to Cook and Eat
- Sweet Potato Bread – A moist, warmly spiced quick bread that makes the most of fall sweet potatoes.
- Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread – Soft, chewy, cheesy, and full of garlic, this bread has everything you could ever want in a warm loaf and so much more.
- Best Banana Bread Recipe – Moist, buttery, and loaded with banana flavor. It’s the one readers keep coming back to.
- Moist Zucchini Bread – This tried and true recipe is tender, flavorful, and perfect for breakfast.