This Rosemary Garlic Bread recipe yields a wonderfully golden brown crust on the outside and a soft texture on the inside. It’s just as good as (if not better) than restaurant bread. Taste and see for yourself…
Rosemary Garlic Bread From Your Own Kitchen is the Best
Recently, I felt compelled to obey that bread-making compulsion that comes calling now and then. Everyone knows the fall season is synonymous with a sudden onset of baking activity. For me, that includes bread.
Armed with a craving for rustic bread, an addiction to garlic, and a fondness for the heady aroma of rosemary, I decided to bake the Best Rosemary Garlic Bread ever. If such a thing can be decided 🙂
I was super thrilled that this actually resulted in the Best Rosemary Garlic Bread we’ve ever had. It’s most definitely a family favorite now. The mouth watering aroma from the oven is one big ridiculous temptation. Seriously, we all sooo wanted to tear into this loaf the minute it emerged.
Golden chewy crust and soft fluffy center
Needless to say, once the dinner bell was officially rung, the bread lasted maybe seconds. Oh-So-Good. The exterior has that artisan, rustic texture – a gorgeous golden crisp crust.
The inside? Everything I’d want in a hearty dinner bread… it’s chewy, soft, yet robust… delicious. The roasted garlic and rosemary are absolutely meant for one another. The seasoning flavors this bread perfectly.
No need for special equipment
I always make homemade bread by hand, only because I’ve never purchased a bread maker. I’ve thought about getting one, but so far it’s been fine without and I actually like the cathartic kneading of dough. You can absolutely make this magical bread at home with no special equipment at all.
Plan ahead to allow time for rising. Depending on the temperature of your room, it could take a couple of hours for the dough to double. I like to put mine in an oven that has been slightly warmed up, which helps the rise time go a bit faster. No doubt, this bread is so worth it. You’ll be one popular baker at the dinner table. Enjoy!
Watch this bread being made:
Rustic Rosemary Garlic Bread
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This fabulously hearty and chewy bread sends out delicious aromas of rosemary and garlic as it bakes. It’s much tastier than many restaurant versions. We think you’ll love this!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water, 110-115F
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 3 TB extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 TB dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp 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: good olive oil and balsamic vinegar for serving
Instructions
- In 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. Finally, 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 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 – bake just until top is a nice golden brown, taking care not to over bake.
- 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!
Notes
Be sure your yeast is very fresh, to ensure a good rise. Replace yeast if it’s been sitting in pantry a long time.
Measure ingredients carefully, taking care not to “tap down” flour when measuring. Always use dry measuring cups and use scoop/scrape method as described here.
You can roast several heads of garlic ahead of time and keep them airtight in fridge to use for recipes like this. Roasted garlic can last nicely for up to a week.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡
- Category: bread
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Rosemary Garlic Bread, Rosemary Bread, Garlic Bread, Artisan Bread
I’m giving this recipe 4 stars because it needs some modifications. The taste of the bread overall was amazing. The combination of rosemary and roasted garlic is so good. I used fresh rosemary for mine (about 2 tablespoons). My main issue with this recipe is the amount of salt called for was way too much for this bread. I would probably cut it in half.
As for baking, I followed the tip of another reviewer and did what I usuallt do for my sourdough bread. Instead of spraying the surface of the bread with water, I placed a tray of cold water underneath my bread tray to create steam for the rise. I cooked it for 28 minutes at 375 and then 4 at 425.
★★★★
Hello! If I made this earlier in the day or the day before did a dinner party, do you think it would be ok? Thank you!
Earlier same day would be good. Enjoy and happy baking!
This bread is absolutely delicious! I am glad I chose this recipe for baking my first yeasted bread.
★★★★★
I made this today and am so excited but it’s at 425 and I can’t seem to get the top to brown! Any suggestions?
Can’t wait to try this recipe. This may be a stupid question, but I was wondering for the 1 cup of water, is that referring to 8oz (236mL)?
You got it, 8oz is 1 cup. Hope you love this bread!
Thank you so much for the reply!
Excellent recipe! Made a divine looking boule with my bacon potato leek soup. The bread was wiped out:-) I roasted the whole head of garlic in olive oil on the stovetop and then used the garlicky olive oil in and on the bread. Made the dough in the Zo bread machine. I let it rise for the second hour in a olive oil greased bowl covered with my kitchen towel in the oven with the bread proofing setting on. Removed it, slashed the top and gently moved it to my Dutch oven pan while the oven preheated. Liberally patted with said garlicky olive oil, and topped with fresh rosemary from my plant and some Fleur de sel. Great idea to add a cookie tray with water on the bottom shelf in the oven. Baked for 28 mins, then amped up to 425 – remember to add more water to the bottom tray. Baked until top was perfectly golden brown.
★★★★★
Love that, Shy!! 🙂 🙂
The best bread I’ve ever had and guess what? I baked it. Roasted garlic added to the dough – Genius. Accidentally added too much black pepper – but still tasty.
I too eliminated spraying the dough. Just added water in pan and placed in the oven for a steam.
You’re now the baker of your own favorite bread!! Yay! 🙂 🙂
Looks amazing! I’d like to try it with sourdough starter—have you done that before and can you offer any advice?
Did you try this with a sourdough starter?
This is the 2nd homemade bread recipe I’ve attempted and this one is the winner and the forever keeper! I am dough-challenged, and this was super easy, even kneading it by hand (out of laziness to get the machine out). I didn’t have a spray bottle so I just sprinkled the water on with my hand. It was beautifully browned about 2 minutes after I increased the oven temp, and it cut like a dream with a bread knife. Added some Kerrygold butter and rejoiced in my newfound bread recipe. Thank you for sharing this!!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, and glad you enjoyed this!
Okay–old guy, here, who (aside from turning on the bread machine) has never baked anything–so I thought I’d try this (having just been given a Kitchenaid). I read and re-read the recipe, watched the recipe, gathered and measured my ingredients with exactitude. Relied on “Hey Google” and my Apple watch to time things like Elon Musk sending his latest Telsa for a rendezvous with Mars. But–my loaf didn’t quite rise to the occasion. Looked good, tasted great–more than a little flat.
What do I do to avoid this embarrassing failure to launch in the future. 😉
Thanks,
David
★★★★
David, that’s awesome you decided to bake bread! My main thoughts: be sure your yeast is super fresh, and that each rise resulted in dough that doubled in size. Depending on the room temp, dough can take longer to rise. Use a dry measuring cup for flour and be sure not to “tap down.” If those weren’t the issue, Here’s an article I pulled for you. Hope you’ll try again and get amazing results!
Hey! Just waiting on second proof. I didn’t have bread flour and just used all purpose flour. Should I have added something to substitute? Like corn starch? Thank you!
Sally, the main difference is bread flour has more protein to produce more gluten, resulting in a soft/chewy texture. You can sub with all-purpose flour without adding anything else to it. You may get a slightly different texture, but should still rise and bake up nicely. 🙂
Wow, what a bread, this was so nice and tasty, fantastic recipe x
★★★★★
So happy you liked this!
Our family loves this recipe. We have made it several times and it’s always a big hit. I have picky kids so I just do extra roasted garlic, salt and rosemary for the seasoning. I strongly recommend using fresh rosemary over dried- it adds way more flavor.
★★★★★
Beautiful presentation and an even better bread. I enjoy rosemary bread… But every once in a while Rosemary gets caught in my teeth! Hit the seasoning with a grinder so the powdered seasoning fully flavors the bread to utter perfection.
★★★★★
That’s fabulous, Joshua!