I love and adore Macaroni Grill’s bread that they serve, so I went on a hunt for a copy cat recipe for the bread. Here is my own version of Macaroni Grill -ish Rosemary Bread after experimenting for awhile.
Ingredients: (makes 2 loaves)
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour…I start with 2 1/2 and add a bit more if needed (my fav is white flour, but I’ve made it with wheat flour)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt (I use kosher or sea salt)
2 teaspoons dried Rosemary (I use this because I always have it on hand), or 2 tablespoons fresh Rosemary
Directions:
1. Put water, yeast, and sugar in large bowl and let the mixture to become bubbly.
2. Add in butter, salt and 2 1/2 cups of flour.
3. Add in a teaspoon of the dried Rosemary. (or a tablespoon of fresh) This is half the total amount of Rosemary for the recipe. I kind of smash the dried rosemary up a bit.
4. I use my kitchen aide mixer and knead with the bread hook for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. I’ve also kneaded it for about 10 minutes by hand. Your choice. Add in a bit more flour if needed.
5. Cover bowl. You can oil bowl first if you want, but I just pull the bowl off the mixer stand, cover, set in warm area, and let the dough rise until it’s doubled in bulk…about 1 hour, give or take.
6. Punch down the dough (love that step for some reason.) Divide the dough into two halves. Form into two round loaves. Place on greased/sprayed cookie sheet, use a baking stone, or, what I do is use a silicon baking mat on my cookie sheet.
7. Use a teaspoon of dried rosemary (or tablespoon of fresh rosemary) and kind of pat the rosemary into the two loaves. Or just sprinkle it on. Whatever works for you.
8. Cover the loaves again, place in warm area, and let them rise again until doubled. About an hour, sometimes less for this stage.
9. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
10. Bake the bread for about 15 to 20 minutes until brown. (it doesn’t brown a lot) (I often bake this ahead of time, and then warm it up when we’re ready to eat by heating for another 5 minutes or so.)
11. Pull from oven and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt.
Dipping Sauce:
We use olive oil, Spice Island Bread Dipping spices, and Parmesan cheese. (you could use your own choice of spices like garlic, oregano, italian spices, etc.)
Pour the oil on a plate and add the spices and cheese.
FAIR WARNING: This bread should come with a warning…you just can’t. stop. eating. it. once you get started. So very yummy.
Very easy to make and incredibly tasty. Enjoy your faux Macaroni Grill -ish- Rosemary bread.
