Rosemary bread

Preparing the dough – 40 minutes

Add 60 ml of lukewarm water to a small bowl. Stir in the yeast and a tablespoon of sugar. Leave to stand for a few minutes until it becomes foamy.

Add half a tablespoon of olive oil, the flour, a pinch of salt and dried rosemary to the bowl of the stand mixer. Gradually add the remaining 115 ml of lukewarm water and the yeast mixture. Mix to combine, then knead at medium high-speed for 8 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough (manual kneading will take around 10 minutes).

Shape the dough into a ball, then cover the bowl of the mixer with a damp kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 2 hours in a warm place.

Knead the dough for another 5 minutes, divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place the balls of dough on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Leave to stand (uncovered) for 10 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. You could make 1 larger loaf, if you prefer.

Baking the rosemary bread – 20 minutes

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Bake the rosemary loaves for 10 minutes, then take the loaves out of the oven, brush with half a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with some sea salt and a quarter tablespoon of rosemary.

Place the loaves back in the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden brown. Transfer the baked loaves to a wire cooling rack, and leave to cool. Serve the rosemary bread with good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!