Sourdough and Rosemary and Raisins...oh my!

This is the first bread I've baked since the last Bread Baking Babes effort in May. Totally unusual for me, but it's been pretty hot around here for the last few days. Sweetie has now lost over 65 pounds and I've lost some, too, although far from that amount. Still, I miss bread baking and so I'm grateful to the Babes for giving me an excuse every month to bake bread. During the last month time was well spent painting and refurbishing the front room of the farmhouse so that it can be a beautiful bedroom this weekend. Sweetie and I have a lovely friend and her granddaughter here for a visit. They've been camping, so a nice, soft bed and good shower was very much appreciated.

Back to the bread...brought to us by our Kitchen of the Month Judy of Judy's Gross Eats.  THis fantastic bread is Rosemary Raisin Sourdough. I used the sourdough starter that I started up last month. This was an easy bread to work with. I chose to make half the recipe so we wouldn't have too much bread (I know, it sounds strange to even think that, but these days Sweetie isn't the only one who is losing weight and too much bread puts the pounds back on). I also substituted molasses for the honey and used some white whole wheat flour instead of part of the bread flour. My sourdough starter from last month came through the month just fine with a few feedings and it really adds great flavor to this delicious bread. I think the part I like best is the combination of the sweet golden raisins and the zingy fresh rosemary. It's a good bread by itself, but it's also a good sandwich bread. We served the last of it tonight to go with our braised lamb shoulder dinner...it went perfectly with it!

Because I do like to change things around and I've been baking bread long enough to feel comfortable with variations, I put all the wet ingredients into the bowl, put all the dry ingredients into another bowl (and mixed them well) and then stirred about a cup of the dry ingredients into the wet, then used the dough hook to mix in the rest of the dry ingredients and to knead the dough (so no 10 minute rest for the dough before kneading), and it worked really well. The bread had a great oven spring and a good crumb. I did burn the top a little bit...should have tented it with foil for the last 7 minutes or so.

Do try this bread. You can probably shape it any way you like to shape bread because it has great body and is easy to work with. Give it a try and take a photo or two and send an email to Judy with your baking experience so that you become a Buddy and she'll send you a Buddy Badge. Her email is on her site.

Be sure to visit the other Babes's blogs to see how this bread worked out for them, too. Bet someone used another grain like spelt...it's the perfect recipe for that kind of substitution!

Thanks for viewing this blog. I'll probably be posting more often now. Berry season has arrived, which always inspires me.

XO, Elle

Rosemary Raisin Sourdough Bread

(Recipe can be halved or doubled)

28 oz bread flour

8 oz whole grain flour

1 oz Kosher salt

2 tsp. active dry yeast

2 oz honey

4 oz olive oil

4 oz raisins

1/8 cup chopped fresh rosemary

16 oz sourdough starter (100% hydration)

16 oz room-temperature water

Blend dry ingredients in mixing bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined into a shaggy dough.  Cover with a towel and let mixture rest for 10 minutes.  

Using a dough hook, knead dough for about 10 minutes, until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until doubled.

Remove risen dough from bowl, shape as desired, place on baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

About 20 minutes before baking, heat oven to 500˚F.  Bake at 500˚F for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 425˚F and continue baking until top is brown and the internal temperature is between 190-200˚F, about 15-20 minutes.  Watch the bread carefully so it doesn’t get too dark (adjust oven temperature accordingly).

Remove from oven; let cool on rack.