There are many oils that you can store in your food storage, but my favorites would have to be butter and olive oil. Life is just plain better with butter and I will post several recipes this month with good ol’ butter in them. For now though, to humor all of us who are trying to be a little healthier during the new year (haha!), I wanted to post two of my favorite recipes that call for olive oil. Everyone knows that olive oil is most likely the healthiest oil on the market (feel free to correct me if I am wrong). It doesn’t store extremely long, about 1-1 1/2 years, but it sure tastes delicious! When ever possible I try to replace butter, margarine or cooking oils with extra virgin olive oil, because of the health benefits.
So, whether you are sauteing vegetables or making bread, olive oil is a must in your pantry and food storage!
I love to make all sorts of breads, but one of my all-time favorite breads to make is this recipe for Macaroni Grill’s Rosemary Bread. I don’t remember where we got this recipe from, or if it is really Macaroni Grill’s recipe, but either way, it is delicious!! The soft texture, crispy buttery crust and the hint of rosemary in this bread is absolutely delightful! This bread is the perfect compliment to any pasta dish, soup or salad. Not only is this bread delicious, but the fact that you roll the dough ball into a somewhat flat ball and bake, can’t make this recipe any more simple. Also, for those wanting to incorporate more whole grains into your diet, this recipes works great with half wheat flour and half white flour. I have never tried whole wheat flour, but I am sure that would taste great too!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs. yeast
- 2 Tbs. sugar
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 Tbs. rosemary
- 2 tsp. salt
- 6-7 cups flour
- 4 Tbs. butter melted
- Coarse salt
Instructions
- Add yeast, sugar and water in a mixing bowl. Let the yeast rise in bowl until bubbly. Add the oil, rosemary, salt and flour and knead together until smooth and slightly sticky. This usually takes 10 minutes on medium speed. Roll dough into two large round loaves, or four small loaves. Place the round loaves of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Let the bread rise until they double in size, about 30-40 minutes. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Melt butter and spread over the baked loaves and sprinkle with coarse salt.
