Instructions

1. Whisk the starter, water, and Aqua et Oleum’s premium extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt. Then the rosemary leaves (no branches here!) Use a silicone spatula and mix everything together. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
2. After the dough has rested, work the dough into a rough ball.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a slightly damp towel. Leave it in a warm, spot to rise. The dough is ready when it has increased in size – about 1.5 to 2X its size. This can take between 3 -12 hours (depending on the temperature of your ingredients and your environment). We left ours overnight and then came back to it (approx. 10 hours).
4. Lightly flour a surface for cutting the dough and shaping it.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place it onto the floured area so that it does not stick.
6. Cut the dough in half to make 2 loaves, or leave it whole for a single loaf (we made two loaves because we had doubled the recipe).
7. Pick up the dough and form a ball, by cupping your hands around the dough.
8. (It’s optional to coat the bottom of your Dutch oven with cornmeal – we didn’t do this.) Place parchment paper in your Dutch oven. Place the dough inside for about an hour or 2 for the 2nd rise. The dough should look slightly puffy when it is ready.
9. Right before your bread goes into the oven make an “X”. We used kitchen scissors and made two cuts in the middle of the dough.
10. Preheat the oven to 450°F when ready to bake.
11. Place the bread in the oven with the lid on and reduce the oven to 400°F. Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook it uncovered for the remaining 40 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Remove the bread from the oven, and then let it cool (recommended on a drying rack) for at least an hour before you eat or slice the bread.