Apple and Rosemary Loaf

August 31, 2025

Apple and Rosemary Loaf

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Apple and Rosemary are two perfect matches. The fruit and the herb. In Medieval times, rosemary was associated with remembrance, love and fidelity. It was often used in rituals and charms. Early medicine used it to cure digestive disorders, headaches, and even tried it as a cure for the plague, in a concoction they called 'Four Thieves Vinegar'.

The apple in this loaf gives the bread a natural sweetness. Try it with soft cheese, the herb comes into its own then.

INGREDIENTS

500 gms of strong white bread flour

350 gms freshly pressed apple juice or apple juice to which there has been no added sugar.

NB: depending on your flour you may find 325 gms is sufficient. Slowly add the apple joice until you have the right consistency of dough.

5 gms fine sea salt

25 gms honey (the choice is yours....I'm using blossom honey)

7 gms instant active yeast

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves detached and finely chopped.

METHOD

Strip the leaves off a sprig of rosemary and chop them very finely. Discard the stalk.

Mix the rosemary into the flour and set aside.

Add the salt and the honey to the apple juice and then slowly add it to the flour base. Half way through, add the yeast and then continue until you have a good sticky dough.

Knead the dough until it is soft and silky.

Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough into it, cover and leave somewhere warm until it has doubled. Depending on the temperature, this may take an hour.....it may take two. Watch the dough not the clock.

When it has doubled, lightly flour a surface and tip the dough out onto it. Then knock it back (de gassing it) with some enthusiasm. This dough benefits from being knocked back.

Now, decide if you are baking this loaf in a tin or as a boule or batard. Then, either prepare the tin or the baking sheet.

Preshape the dough, cover and leave to rest for five minutes.

Shape the dough as you wish and either place it on a prepared tray or into a tin, cover and leave at room temperature until it has doubled.

You can shape as a batard:

or as a boule:

Or place it in a tin...or even make rolls out of the dough...

Towards the end of the second proof, preheat the oven to 190⁰C and add a dish of water to help produce steam.

When you're ready, score the top of the dough and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the source of the steam and continue to bake until the loaf is golden brown and hollow when tapped on the bottom. It may take an additional 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. If the bread is starting to become dark, make a shield out of aluminium foil and place it over the top of the loaf.

The inside temperature should be about 95⁰C (203⁰F)