I made this bread a couple of days ago to go along with the Navy Bean Soup I was planning for dinner that evening. It had just started to snow, so soup and homemade bread were inevitably called for. (And yes, of course the soup recipe is on this site!) I found this recipe on thestayathomechef.com site. All the herbs, fresh garlic, and Parmesan cheese in this simple bread recipe absolutely resonated with me. And as it turned out, with good reason. This bread is perfection itself. Easy to build and an ideal complement to any meal. And not even a tiny bit of butter required. Just a beautiful blend of savory flavors. But consider yourself warned. This is not a quiet, timid little bread. This is a full blown, in your face, blast of flavor in tender bread form.   

I made a couple of very insignificant changes to Rachel’s recipe because I could, but she is the real hero of this post. So, thank you Rachel, and keep up the good work at thestayathomechef.com. I am now a devoted fan.

Now, if you are a seasoned bread builder, one glance at this recipe should be enough to send you directly to your kitchen to start playing with yeast and flour. If you are new to bread baking, then you are really in luck. Because this bread is incredibly easy to produce. Even if you consider yourself “gluten challenged”. Which, BTW, is a legitimate condition with which only one person I know is actually afflicted. That being our dear friend Jim. So, you probably only suffer from cold feet. Just don’t let cold feet stop you from making this bread. Pluck up your courage, and just go for it. You will be so happy you did. Because making homemade bread is a beautiful thing. And we all need more things of beauty in our lives.

As always, have fun in your kitchen. I know I say that a lot. But for me, our kitchen is one of my top happy places. I get to experiment. I get to create. And I even get to fail, sometimes miserably, without any real harm to anything but a few ingredients. (And maybe my pride.) But that’s OK.  Because, basically, it’s OK to fail.

I used to tell my children that I wanted them to fail at least half of the time. Because so what? At least they would have tried something new. And maybe that meant that they simply failed to enjoy whatever it was that they had just tried. Like they failed to enjoy playing baseball. Or they felt that hitting a small round ball into a tiny little hole yards and yards away for the shear fun of it was lunacy. (I can relate to that, although Mr. C., son Sven, and a few other good friends would, I’m sure, beg to differ!)

It’s that old – glass half full/half empty thing. I see a glass half full. And I see some failure as an expected result of living a full and rewarding life. Hope you live your life to the fullest also. Little failures and all. Peace and love to all.

1 T. instant dry yeast

1 T. granulated sugar

1 c. slightly warm water

1 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. dried rosemary, lightly crushed

1 tsp. dried basil, lightly crushed

1 tsp. dried oregano, lightly crushed

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, or more as needed

⅓ c. finely grated Parmesan cheese

extra virgin olive oil

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar, and water with the dough hook. Let sit for a couple of minutes. Add the salt, pepper, rosemary, basil, oregano, garlic, 2 cups of the flour, and the Parmesan cheese. As your mixer kneads the bread, gradually add in as much of the remaining flour as needed to achieve a smooth, elastic dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. (Using my stand mixer, this dough clings to the hook and practically leaves the bowl spotless when enough flour has been incorporated.)

Pour a bit of olive oil in the bowl, and using your hands and a stiff rubber spatula, form the dough into a ball completely covered with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

Divide the dough in half and shape into two separate round loaves. Place loaves onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Lightly brush the loaves with olive oil. Cut a shallow X on each loaf. Let rise covered for another 20 minutes.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 20-23 minutes, or until golden brown. The internal temperature should reach at least 195 degrees.

Remove from oven and let cool before serving.  

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Bread is wonderful gently rewarmed before serving.