Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

We recently ate at Macaroni Grill and enjoyed their bread with our salad. It was one of the best restaurant breads we've had. The crust was crisp without being too crunchy and the interior was pillow soft.

I found a few versions online and tried this one from Food.com. To achieve a softer bread I added 2 tablespoons of milk and I ended up adding another 1/2 cup of flour to overcome stickiness. I picked fresh rosemary from my garden and snipped it right into the dough - so good.

The interior was just what I hoped it would be - tender and fluffy, but the surface was not crisp, probably because I set my convection oven a bit lower to keep the loaves from browning too fast. And after all the years I've been baking bread, I didn't pull the dough tight enough when I formed the loaves, so the crust "wrinkled" after I brushed it with butter. We didn't care and devoured one of the loaves for dinner.

Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons milk
2-1/2 to 3 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
2 tablespoons butter

Place yeast, sugar, and water in large bowl and allow mixture to become bubbly. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and add to mixture with salt and 2 cups flour. Add one tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary. Knead 10 minutes by hand or with dough hook 5 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary.

Place dough in lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise in one hour, or until doubled.

Punch dough down and divide in half, then let rest about 5 minutes. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Shape dough into 2 loaves. If desired, sprinkle another 1 tablespoon rosemary over loaves and press lightly into surface.

Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and brush with remaining butter; sprinkle lightly with kosher salt if desired.