Fresh baked bread and rosemary will fill your whole house when you make this. This turned out so delicious. Its the kind of bread you have at a restaurant that you have to restrain yourself from finishing the whole basket because it is so good. The cast iron skillet acts like a wood-burning oven and makes a wonderful crisp crust. It is such an easy bread that goes well with so many things.
Herbed Skillet Bread
- 1 Tbl. sugar
- 1 cup warm water, divided
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2 tspns. sea salt, divided
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl. olive oil, divided plus more for drizzling
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
-In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water, the flour, 1/2 tspn. salt, and 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until well blended and the mixture forms a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a well floured counter and knead smooth, about 10 minutes. Add additional flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Form the dough into a ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat with the oil. Seal the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45 minutes. Coat the bottom and sides of a 10 inch skillet with 1 Tbl. of olive oil. Place the dough in the skillet and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. With a sharp knife, score the top lightly in a crisscross pattern. Brush with the remaining 1 Tbl. olive oil and sprinkle with garlic and rosemary over the top. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tspns. sea salt. Let rise for 20 minutes.
-While the bread is rising, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the skillet in the hot oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is a light golden color. Remove from the pan right away and place on a wire rack to retain the crisp crust. Drizzle with a little olive oil over the top, slice into wedges and serve warm. Enjoy!