Rosemary Cheddar Soda Bread

 

This time of year is so exciting! It’s such a thrill to be able to stir, stuff, or sprinkle something I grew in my backyard into my cooking as often as I do. Even a handful of fragrant fresh herbs turns a simple soda bread dough into a seasonal delight. Well, that and a few handfuls of cheese.

 

Soda bread couldn’t be easier to make with its relatively few ingredients and unfussy techniques. That just leaves more room, not to mention personal energy, to tinker with the batter and add extra flavors. In this case the end product is a rich and satisfying savory, cheesy bread with the vibrant piney aroma of fresh, fresh rosemary.

The sharp cheddar is really great here, but you could use other cheeses you like, or other fresh herbs. I also think you could swap in some whole grain flour. I hope to try it with a bit of rye flour, drawing on my reminiscence of rye bread and cheddar cheese sandwiches I loved as a kid. 

 

I’ve made this bread a couple of times and I like a slice of it alongside just about any simple supper. I most recently served it with Summer Vegetable Hash, and it’s good with soup or an omelet or frittata. It’s great a little warm, and when it’s a day or so old, it benefits from a bit of toasting.

While I’m enjoying this recipe as a celebration of fresh rosemary from the pot on my back patio, I’ll be happy to take this cheesy, savory version of classic Irish soda bread with me into any season.

Rosemary Cheddar Soda Bread

Adapted from foodnessgracious.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Whisk together to combine well. Add the cheddar cheese and toss together to coat the cheese with the flour mixture,

3. Pour in the buttermilk and stir together until all of the dry mixture is moistened. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture stays too dry.

4. Pull the dough together with your hands and dump out onto a floured surface. Gently knead the dough a few times and shape into a rough ball. The dough will be a bit wet and sticky.

5. Place the ball of dough onto the prepared baking pan. Cut a deep X in the middle of the dough, at least ¼-inch deep.

6. Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes or until the top of the loaf is well browned and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter sticking to it.

7. Cool on the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Slice to serve, either warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 6 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Caraway Rye Soda Bread, Soda Bread with Wild Rice and Cranberries, Savory Zucchini Parmesan Bread

One year ago: Rhubarb and White Chocolate Blondies

Rosemary Focaccia

 

I’ve seen and collected enough recipes for rosemary-flavored flatbread, thought long enough about how I would make it, and imagined vividly enough how it would taste, that I could probably have convinced someone that I make it regularly. I even kind of surprised myself when I realized that I had never made it at all. How something so lively and interesting slipped through my culinary clutches, I will never know.

The good news is that I finally made some. I kept this pretty simple, mostly adapting my pizza dough recipe. I swapped in bread flour for the all-purpose flour to make it soft and puffy and significantly increased the olive oil to make it richer. I also infused the oil with fresh rosemary, added rosemary leaves to the dough, and sprinkled even more rosemary leaves on top of the bread.

While I tried to get rosemary into and onto this bread in as many ways as I could, I also tried not to really overpower it with rosemary. The end result in this recipe attempt was a warm, subtle rosemary essence through each bite of bread. 

 

This bread is fairly thick and puffy. It works well as a soup accompaniment (especially for this soup!). I think it’s even thick enough to split in half horizontally and stuff with sandwich fixings. You could adapt that thickness to meet your own preferences by stretching the dough more or less before baking.

You could also add other things to this bread, either mixed into the dough (other herbs, olives) or on top, like a pizza (a sprinkling of cheese, caramelized onions). Like any basic flour and water and yeast mixture, there are lots of opportunities improvise your way to customized deliciousness. Let your imagination run wild! You might even become an expert on a few things you’ve never actually done!

 

Rosemary Focaccia

You could use more rosemary in this recipe if you really want the flavor to burst through.

2 tablespoons rosemary leaves, divided

¼ cup olive oil, preferably extra-virgin

1 cup warm (about 100 F) water

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)

1 tablespoon sugar

3 ½ cups bread flour (or more if needed)

1 ½ teaspoon fine salt

1. Finely chop about 2 teaspoons rosemary leaves. Set aside. Set aside about 1 teaspoon of the remaining whole rosemary leaves.

2. Warm the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the remaining rosemary leaves and cook about 3-5 minutes, or until they have sizzled for a while and the leaves turn a dull green, almost brown color (do not burn them). Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. This can be done a few hours ahead of time.

3. Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer (or in a large bowl if mixing the dough by hand.) Let stand about 5 minutes or until the yeast is foamy.

4. Strain the rosemary leaves out of the oil. Discard the spent leaves. Add 3 tablespoons of the infused oil to the yeast mixture. Set the remaining oil aside.

5. Add the chopped rosemary leaves. Using the paddle attachment, stir in 2 cups of the bread flour on low speed until the mixture resembles a coarse batter (or stir together with a spoon). Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let stand 15-30 minutes. The batter should have expanded to a puffy mass.

6. Sprinkle the salt over the dough. Add about ½ cup bread flour and knead in with the dough hook (or stir in with a spoon). Continue kneading at medium-low speed, adding enough of the remaining flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough, about 10 minutes. (Or turn out the dough and knead in the remaining flour by hand.)

7. Form the sticky dough into a ball and place it in a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Spray the top of the dough ball and place a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Cover the bowl with a towel and let stand at least 1 hour. The dough should have doubled in size. (You can also refrigerate the dough overnight. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

8. Gently deflate the risen dough and shape into a new ball. Cover and let rest about 5 minutes. Stretch and shape the dough into a flat disk, square or oval as desired. I made mine about 10-inches square and 1-1 ½ inches thick. You can stretch it as thinly as you like. Place on a baking sheet that has either been greased or sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat (my favorite).

9. Preheat oven to 350 F. Let the dough rise about 30 minutes. Gently poke the dough all over to create dimples. Brush the remaining infused oil over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with the last of the rosemary leaves. Bake 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden on the outside. If your dough is thinner, you may want to bake a shorter time.

10. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack. Enjoy slightly warm.

Makes about 6 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Pizza Crust Dough, Whole Wheat Pizza Crust, Naan with Whole Wheat Flour, Rosemary Raisin Rye Bread

Rosemary Raisin Tea Cake

So, I’m finally getting around to telling you about this cake. I won’t go into the details of why I’m rarely around this site anymore. It’s not because the food isn’t good, that’s for sure. Really, it’s because there just aren’t enough hours in a day, days in a week, etc., etc.

This is a very simple, “everyday” sort of cake with a gentle sweetness, a burst of the somewhat exotic from the fresh rosemary, and raisins. As humble as they may be, I love raisins.

I have lots of fresh rosemary growing in a pot on my patio, and was encouraged by this bread recipe from the archives to expect good things from the combination of rosemary and raisins. This cake didn’t let me down. I added lemon zest to perk things up a bit and the simple lemon glaze from this cake, neither of which added a significant amount of extra work to this easy dessert.

While I really liked the faint piney-ness of the rosemary in this sweet medium, other fresh herbs would be good as well, as would other dried fruits. I recently found a recipe for apricot-sage scones, leading me to believe that combination might be good in this cake. Also, fresh basil is nice with citrus, if you choose to use other zests or a combination (like in these cookies).

Since this is all so simple and versatile, the possibilities can truly make this kind of cake an everyday thing in the kitchen, even if your days and nights are busy. Just as long as you don’t expect to have your cake and eat it too. Given the choice, I’d say eat it!

Rosemary Raisin Tea Cake with Lemon

Adapted from the Fanny Farmer Baking Book

½ cup raisins

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

4 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. In a small saucepan, combine the raisins, milk and rosemary. Bring to a simmer and cook 2 minutes. Set aside until cooled.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Trace the bottom of the pan on parchment paper and cut out the circle. Place the parchment circle on the bottom of the cake pan. Grease and flour the paper.

3. Melt the butter. Set aside to cool.

4. In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy (you can do this with an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk). Beat in the melted butter. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is very smooth and pale in color.

5. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk or sift together. Stir in the lemon zest.

6. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until very smooth. The batter will be very stiff. Add the cooled milk mixture. Stir until smooth.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until a pick inserted near the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

8. Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove the cake from the pan. (Turn it over again to cool right side up if desired. I liked the look of the top of the cake more than the bottom.)

9. When the cake is still slightly warm, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice and stir until the mixture is very smooth. The icing should be loose enough to glaze the cake. Spoon the glaze over the cake and smooth over the top. Allow the cake to stand until the icing is set.

Makes about 16 servings. Cover leftovers and keep at room temperature for a few days.

Other recipes like this one: Rosemary Raisin Rye Bread, Simple Vanilla Yogurt Cake

One year ago: Corn and Bean Skillet Pasta, Melon and Lime Cocktail