This crusty rosemary Parmesan bread is done in one hour from start to finish and is absolutely exploding with Parmesan cheese, fragrant rosemary, and garlic. Have one loaf with dinner tonight and freeze one loaf for later!
Read on to see how to have this bread on the table in just about 60 minutes!
Rosemary Parmesan Bread
If it’s true that a thing of beauty is a joy forever, this bread is destined to bring joy even before you bite into it. One look at its deeply browned crust that is brushed with garlic olive oil and covered in crispy, nutty Parmesan cheese, fresh rosemary, coarse sea salt flakes, and you’ll be slavering for a slice.
But once you slice into that bread, all bets are off. Garlicky, chewy, artisan bread that is laced with minced fresh rosemary and studded to the bursting point with pockets of gooey, melted Parmesan cheese is not for the weak willed.
Oh sure, it’s incredible served with Corn and Potato Chowder, Mushroom Stew or Beef Curry Stew. It makes the most insane toast to serve with fried eggs for breakfast or brinner. But it is so good, you may choose to forego dinner altogether and just eat the bread.
One Hour Bread
That one hour time frame is not a typo! It is no secret that I am a maniac for homemade bread recipes. I do love a good 3-day sourdough bread project, but my schedule seldom allows those. I don’t often have the time to commit to that kind of baking enterprise.
Enter one hour breads; stage right. I have developed a method over the years that allows me to turn out two incredible loaves of bread in just about 60 minutes from start to finish. From One Hour Sandwich Bread to One Hour Swedish Limpa Bread, to an entire chapter in my bread cookbook, “Ready, Set, Dough!“, I can promise that real bread in one hour is not only possible, it’s delicious!
Rosemary Garlic Bread
…and the smell while your bread is baking? Forget about it. I really ought to have put a warning label on this post at the beginning because the bread is just that good.
We add a scandalous quantity of Parmesan cheese and fresh rosemary into each loaf, but that’s not all. Garlic is also center stage in this recipe, though.
Because fresh garlic can negatively affect the activity of yeast, we use granulated garlic IN the bread. But fresh garlic has its place here, too. Mince some pungent fresh garlic with the olive oil that and brush it over the loaves before baking. That way you get the best of both worlds; garlic throughout and a punch of fresh garlic on top!
Garlic Parmesan Bread
I’m wild for the combination of rosemary, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in this bread. If you’re having trouble laying your hands on fresh rosemary, you can substitute dried rosemary for the fresh. You’ll only need about 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary instead of the 1/4 cup of fresh rosemary, though.
Keep in mind that the dried herb can be a little stabby. Break it down a bit before adding it to the dough. I do not recommend topping a loaf with dried rosemary, though, so don’t hold any out for garnish.
Bread flour (a.k.a. high-gluten flour) is the best choice for this recipe. You can substitute all-purpose flour if you want or need to, but the bread will be slightly less chewy and the dough will be a little more prone to tearing while shaping.
It shouldn’t worry you if the dough tears a bit while forming the loaves. The cubes of Parmesan have poky corners and like to break through.
Just do the best you can to keep as much of the dough intact as you can. The finished loaves will look lovely and rustic with rivulets of melted cheese coming from them and crisping up on the pan.
And I have one very important word of advice. Do not cut into a hot loaf unless you’re committing to eating it all within a couple of hours. Not only will the cheese ooze out, but the texture of your bread will also suffer. This is because carry-over heat continues to cook the bread as it cools.
Bread’s structure becomes set as it cools, too. That’s not to say you can’t eat a warm loaf of bread from the oven, but be aware that you’re going to want to eat the cut loaf within an hour or two.
If you prefer subtlety, you can use grated cheese instead of cubed cheese. That will still be delicious, but you won’t have cheese erupting from the crust and crumb.
Whatever you do, do not tell anyone how delicious those little crispy bits of cheese surrounding the bread are. Save those for yourself!
As the bread cools, the cheese will firm up. It does melt all over again when heated or toasted, though. Because of this, I advise against warming the bread in a toaster.
For best results, toast slices of this bread in a frying pan using butter or olive oil. Alternatively, you can toast these briefly under the broiler.
Rosemary Parmesan Bread
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 6 cups high-gluten flour a.k.a bread flour, 1 pound 9.5 ounces by weight. See notes
- 2 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary minced, divided (1 teaspoon set aside for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar or mild honey
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 12 ounces Parmesan cheese cut into 1/4-inch cubes, divided (1/3 cup set aside for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced or pressed
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt flakes optional
Instructions
- DO NOT PREHEAT THE OVEN! It is crucial to this recipe that you start the bread in a cold oven.
- Put a kettle of water on to boil. Line a half sheet pan with parchment or a silpat and set it aside.
- Combine the flour, water, rosemary, yeast, sugar, kosher salt, and granulated garlic in a mixing bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead in a stand mixer for 4 minutes or by hand on a clean, lightly floured counter for 10 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise for 15 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter. Divide into two equal portions. Gently pat each portion out into a rough rectangle. Scatter about 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cubes over each rectangle and press them into the dough. Fold both ends of each rectangle toward the center. Scatter the remaining Parmesan cubes (leaving 1/3 cup aside for garnish) over the dough. Press the cheese into the dough, then fold both ends toward the center again. Flip the dough over, seam side down, and gently form into rounds. Cup your hands at an angle around the dough ball and gently turn it in a circle in one direction, gently pulling the top toward the counter as you do this to tighten the dough round. Transfer the rounds to the prepared half sheet pan, leaving ample room between them for the bread to rise while it bakes. It will expand quite a bit.
- Combine the olive oil and minced garlic in a small bowl. Use a knife to roughly chop the remaining cubes of Parmesan. You want the pieces to be about the size of panko bread crumbs. Combine the remaining minced rosemary with the coarse sea salt flakes, if using them. Set these three things to the side.
- Gently press on each round to lightly flatten the top. Brush generously with the garlic olive oil. Use a sharp knife to score an x in the top. Scatter the chopped Parmesan cheese and rosemary salt over the tops of the dough.
- Place the sheet pan in the center third of the COLD oven. Position a cake pan on the rack below the bread and fill it with boiling water. Close the oven door and set the temperature to 400ºF. Immediately start a timer set to 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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