Rosemary Bread

I think this bread would be a REALLY good grilled cheese, or sandwich with local tomatoes.
I named it that because originally it has rosemary in it, but I ran out of rosemary and still make this bread. Granted, it wouldn't be rosemary anymore, but it's still really, really good.
Breads in the machine are neat just for the sheer fact that you can add things here and there (gradually) without messing up the bread by too much. Granted, that changes if you add something salty, for instance, because that messes with the yeast. Adding fluids is hard (see: honey or jams) because then it might get too gloopy.

I'm eating this bread right now (meaning I have the time to write my posts on breads I've used recently) after having toasted a slice and put honey on top. I think I made it a week ago, but I sliced it and put it all into a large tupperware container. A big thing with bread: it's not necessarily how much air is in there when you store it so much as WHERE you store it. The cool from the fridge makes it get tough faster, as it messes with the bread on a chemical level. However, being warm and in the sunlight is bad, because then things like green mold (penicillin, anyone?) tends to breed within 2-3 days. Why? Because there's no preservative in it. (For SHAME, haha.) So, I store mine in an air tight container, then inside a drawer that doesn't see light.
It's the same drawer the mouse visits, hence the thicker container. I don't know if it's alive anymore (my cat had some intestinal issues that, upon experiencing the smell, I have to wonder if she ate the mouse in question...) but it's not getting to my homemade bread, darn it.

As always, put the warm water with the yeast and any granulated items, like sugar and salt, and let them fester for a moment. It'll bubble; that's when I tend to add everything else.

With this one, I also just completely melt the butter and put it in with the water, salt, sugar and yeast. It doesn't seem to change much of anything, and it saves me the effort of hoping the 'softened' butter will mix thoroughly enough.
Also, don't replace the butter with anything else. I'm sure it'd be okay, but I've been reading a lot about butter vs oils, and ...I'd just stick to butter. I've always just stuck to butter if I can but.. Come to find out, and this isn't a shocker for me, canola oil helps you fatten up. It's a bad idea.


Recipe

1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup of warm water
1 teaspoons of salt
1 + 1/2 teaspoons of  active dry yeast
2 tablespoons of melted butter
2 tablespoons of rosemary *
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasonings
3 cups of bread flour
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 beaten egg

Mix everything in as one should. Leave out the egg.
If you are using a bread machine, put everything in on wheat (which works in mine, might not in yours) and let it go. Come back when the bread has risen a bunch (an hour or hour-and-a-half should be left). Whisk up the egg (I've been known to add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and about 2-3 of parmigiana cheese) and pour it over the bread. It's worked when you stab the bread with a knife, but then it muffin topped a lot; that was a REALLY good, really ugly bread, so it's up to you. Everything on the top will cover, then spill over the sides. Don't worry, it shouldn't burn. It'll be pretty tasty.

If you are using a bread pan in the oven, do the typical spiel: knead it for a while, let it sit, covered by a towel, in a container and in a warm place. Come back to it later on, brush the loaves with the egg, and then bake at 375F for a while in a preheated oven. No idea how long that takes, but it shouldn't bake for more than about an hour and a half, I'd guess. You get the same thing each time (I think this makes two bread pans, if using the oven, but then that would depend on your pan size, too).

*I haven't used rosemary in a while, but it's really good with some marjoram and parsley instead.
Also, adding macadamia nut pieces is really, really tasty.

Enjoy!