Panmarino - Italian Rosemary Bread

Panmarino. Italian rosemary bread. Rosemary and olive oil and a biga to develop flavor make some pretty awesome loaves.

I've got this giant rosemary plant in my tiny garden that will put up with whatever neglect I give it.

The recipe for this bread, as described by Cathy from The Bread Experience, is pretty specific about the rising times. It also calls for a very small amount of yeast in the final dough. By following the original recipe instructions, I ended up with a fairly dense yet tasty bread.

Next time I think I might extend the first rise until the dough has doubled and perhaps increase the yeast for the final dough to 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.

The original recipe also calls for incorporating the olive oil after the dough had been fully kneaded. My dough seemed to be sloshing around in a pool of oil in the mixing bowl, so I resorted to a method I learned when making a brioche to incorporate butter.

I pulled the entire dough mass out of the mixer and added it back in pieces, every few seconds.** Bam. Dough.

The dough had great oven spring, and the slashing pattern forced the loaves to rise up, exposing the salt crystals.

This bread was chosen by Cathy of The Bread Experience for the Bread Baking Babes. Check out her post for other Babes' experiences with this bread. I am baking along as a Bread Baking Buddy.

Panmarino - Italian Rosemary Bread

Adapted from The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking from The French Culinary Institute. Makes 4 one pound loaves. 

Ingredients 

Biga

143 g bread flour

122 g water

Pinch of instant yeast (about 1/16 tsp)

Final Dough

884 g bread flour

477 g water

44 g milk

All of the biga

20 g salt

Pinch of instant yeast (I would increase this to 1/4 tsp)

88 g olive oil

9 g chopped fresh rosemary

Instructions

Prepare the Biga

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until blended. 
2. Scrape the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
3. Let rest for 14 to 16 hours. 

Prepare the Final Dough:

1. Combine the flour, water, milk and biga in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the dough hook on low until blended. 
2. Add the salt and yeast and mix on low for 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix for another 7 minutes. 
3. Add the olive oil and rosemary and mix until fully incorporated. (I had to break the dough up into pieces in order to incorporate the oil**).
4. Scrape the dough into an oiled boil, cover with plastic wrap, and let ferment for 45 minutes (next time I will let it double, no matter how long it takes).
5. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and form them into tight boules. Place them on a parchment lined peel or the back of a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let them sit for one hour. 
6. Place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven and place a steam pan on a rack below the stone. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, and bring one cup of water to a boil.
7. Score the top of each boule in an asterisk pattern and sprinkle the crevices with sea salt. 
8. Drag the parchment paper onto the baking stone, and pour the boiling water into the steam pan. Shut the oven door and reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. 
9. Bake the loaves for 40 minutes, until golden brown and the bottom of the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. 
10. Cool on a wire rack. 

These loaves are great thinly sliced, toasted, and buttered.