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Combine water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Stir to mix a bit and let it sit for 5 minutes to activate.
Clean the bowl, coat with a touch of oil and transfer the dough back into the bowl. Roll it around to coat with oil, and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let it rise for an hour to 1.5 hours, or until double in size.
This herb bread is best if eaten within a day or 2 after making. Any leftover stale bread makes great croutons and grilled cheese sandwiches.
The herbs – The first time I made this herb bread the only fresh herb I used was the rosemary. However, when I made it the second time, I used the fresh basil, parsley, and rosemary mix. Both batches were excellent, so it really doesn’t matter. And yes – I do use quite a bit of herb in this bread. I guess that’s because I’ve always loved a good herb bread, plus I grow a lot of herbs.
I don’t have a mixer so I did the kneading by hand which I find a very Zenlike thing to do. In fact, it was in the kneading step that I realized why I enjoyed making bread. I don’t think I would make bread, if I used a mixer. For me, manually kneading bread is why breadmaking is so much fun!
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen