Rosemary Spice Bread

I am so excited to share this Rosemary Spice Bread using instant dry yeast. It resembles a sourdough loaf but with the ease of instant dry yeast. The texture is airy, soft and this breads stays fresh very well for several days. I think it is ideal for Christmas and is something you can prepare a day in advance so you can focus on other cooking. Be warned though, it might not last till Christmas if made early!

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RECIPE - ROSEMARY SPICE BREAD

Yields: 1 Batard

INGREDIENTS:

300g Japan high gluten flour - About 12% protein
30g whole wheat flour
1 tsp (3.1g) instant dry yeast
250g water
6.5g salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice (Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and coriander)

5g (1 Tbsp) fresh rosemary, chopped

10g butter, room temperature

Banneton (proofing basket)'s size - 6.5"or 8.5" oval shape

METHOD:

Mixing Dough:

Mix water, instant dry yeast and sugar in a bowl of stand mixer. Stir well.
Add in flours, salt, mixed spice and rosemary.
Mix with paddle attachment for about 2 minutes at speed 2 (KA mixer) and slowly turn to speed 4. Add butter and continue kneading for another 2 - 3 minutes or until the dough turns smooth, comes together and away from the sides of the bowl.

Proofing and shaping:

Round up the dough. Transfer the dough into a greased dish. Cover and rest for 1 hour at room temperature around 28C.
Do 1 set of coil fold. Cover and rest for 1 hour.
Transfer dough to a floured surface. Fold right to centre and fold left to meet in the centre. Roll up the dough like Swiss Roll until a log is formed. Pinch both ends to seal.
Place the dough to a floured banneton with seam side up. Proof for another 20 – 30 minutes. Lightly press the the dough with your finger. If the indentation slowly bounces back and leave a small indentation, it is ready.
Transfer to freezer and let it rest for another 45 minutes. Take bread dough out from the freezer, invert onto a parchment paper. Then place back in the freezer again for another 15 minutes. This is to harden the top for easy scoring.

Scoring and baking:

While resting the dough in the freezer, preheat oven with the dutch oven (cast iron) at 250C (top & bottom heat) for 30 - 60 minutes before baking.
Take bread dough out from the freezer. Using a razor blade and score Christmas tree design as you wish.
Immediately transfer the dough with parchment paper to your preheated dutch oven.
Bake with cover on for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and lower the temperature to 220C (top & bottom heat), continue bake for another 5 - 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove bread from oven and dutch oven. Let it cool on rack completely before slicing.

TIPS FOR SCORING:

Place the bread in the freezer after final proofing. Then invert onto a parchment paper, place back in the freezer again for 10 - 15 minutes for easing scoring.
Dust the top with rice flour before scoring to accentuate the pattern.
Do not overproof the dough. When you score, the excessive gas collected in it will cause the dough collapse.
Use a sharp razor blade for bread scoring.