Fragrant with fresh rosemary this version of organic artisan bread is easy to whip up today and bake tomorrow. At the bakery, where this was our 2nd most popular bread, I would use a prefermented sponge with 1/4 of the flour and 1/3 of the water. At home I use the straight dough method where all the ingredients are mixed at once and then the dough is rested in the fridge overnight. The long cool rest helps to develop the flavour and texture to get that artisan bread quality. Best served warm out of the oven or toasted for breakfast the next day.
Yield: 4 artisan loaves or 2 large pan breads
8 cups (1300g) organic all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5g) instant yeast
2 tablespoons (30g) sea salt
2 teaspoons (10g) fresh organic rosemary, chopped
3 2/3 cups (900ml) warm water
Blend all dry ingredients, including rosemary, in a large bowl.
Add warm water and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
Grease mixing bowl and put dough back in to rest. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch dough down, flip over, cover and put in fridge to rest overnight.
Remover dough from fridge about 4 hours before you want to bake it. This allows dough to come to room temperature and double in size again. The dough should be light and airy by this time.
Preheat oven to 475°F.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape as desired. If making pan bread I divide the dough into 2 portions.
Let rise for about an hour.
Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the temperature to 4oo°F, continue to bake another 15 minutes for artisan loaves and up to 25 minutes for pan bread.
Cool bread in the pan for a few minutes, flip out onto a wire rack and enjoy!
