What You Need:
1 T dry yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp salt
2 T rosemary, chopped (or 1 t dried rosemary)
1 T olive oil
2 T butter or margarine
coarsely ground salt
What To Do:
Put the yeast, water and sugar into a blender, mixer or food processor. Mix it until it is frothy. turn the oven onto 200*. (You just need to wamr it up, your not baking yet.) find a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the flour, the tsp of salt and half of your chopped rosemary. Keep the other half cup of flour close at hand. add the yeast mixture to this and knead away. Don't be shy. Fold it over itself plenty of times to get those gluten strands good and stretched. Add the rest of the flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency (soft and stretchy without being overly sticky). Turn the oven off. lift the dough out of the mixing bowl. Add the olive oil to the bowl and swirl it around Roll the dough in the olive oil so its well coated and let it sit in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and place it in the oven (the oven should ve off by now, if you missed that step). Leave the door cracked so it isn't too hot in there. Let the dough rise for about an hour. It should be approx. douvled in size. punch the dough down and knead it again. divide it into two equal sized lumps and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. Prepare your baking pan. I use a cermaic stoe, but a cookie sheet will work. If the surface is not naturally non-stick, spray it with the cooking spray. Shape the dough into two oval shaped loaves and arrange on the pan. Melt the butter or margarine. Use a brush to paint the surface of the loaves with butter. Use all of the butter. the loaves willbe quite saturated when you're done. Remember the part about shooting your inner fitness freak. Take the rest of the chopped rosemary and sprinkle it over the loaves. Pat it down gently to set it into the dough. Return the loaves to the oven. don't turn it on yet. Let the dough rise again, for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and reheat the oven to 450*. sprinkle a little bit of coares salt over the loaves. Return the dough to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown. Makes two loaves. best enjoyed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.
Recipe Note: I found this recipe online and it really does taste like the real thing. The submitter said : "This is a recipe intended to approximate that awesome chewy bread that they bring out at the Macaroni Grill. The kind youdip into the olive oil and cracked garlic. No, it is not healthy in the slichtest. Shoot your inner fitness freak and let your inner gourmand rule."
