Mountain Dew Doritos Cupcakes & Cake Pops♥

I visit kids all over Wisconsin on a mission to teach cupcakes.

The last two places I taught cupcakes to kids (young and old) were the New London Middle School and the McMillan Memorial Library in Wisconsin Rapids!

Kids inspire me.

And when I teach them cupcakes..

I remind them to value their imagination forever.

It is probably one of the most valuable gifts every single one of us is born with.

My imagination is how I came up with this cupcake:♥

Mountain Dew Doritos Cupcakes

and/or

Mountain Dew Doritos Cake Pops!

Inspired by all of us (young and old) who have been busted with our hands in the bag of Doritos, cheesy fingers (and all while drinking a sugary soda). It's too good to be bad.  Too savory to be sweet. Too sweet to say no to ♥

See all these happy kids about to learn all about the art of mixing Mountain Dew, Doritos, and cupcakes?! (At New London Middle School).  They all agreed with me that Mountain Dew & Doritos are the perfect after school snack combo.

After I shared a fun try-at-home recipe with them.. the students frosted their cupcakes ♥

I gave them each a sugar cookie heart to bake inside of their Mountain Dew Cupcake. (I told them the best ingredient you can ever bake inside of a cupcake is LOVE).

Mountain Dew Doritos Cupcake Recipe:

(The "Back To School" Version)

Makes about 18 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box Lemon Cake Mix

1 Cup Mountain Dew (in place of water in the mix)

1 T Lime Zest

1 small box instant lemon pudding (in dry powder form)

2 tsp lemon extract

½ Cup Oil

4 Eggs

Doritos! (in any flavor you wish)

Optional Ingredients:  

♥1/2 Cup Crumbled Doritos to add to batter. (with this option you'll need a Freezer Size Ziploc bag and a rolling pin)
♥Americolor Gel Paste in Electric Green, Leaf Green, Electric Yellow

Method:
♥Before baking..zest your tablespoon of lime zest into a small bowl.

♥Some like to add a Dorito only as a cupcake garnish, others like to crumble up and add the Doritos to batter so there are Doritos in the cupcake.  If you are going to add Doritos to the batter....Stuff Doritos inside of a large Freezer Size Ziploc bag.  Roll the rolling pin over the full Ziploc bag.   This will crumble the chips into little pieces,  and now they are ready to bake inside of a cupcake.

1. Pour your box mix into stand mixer.

2. Make sure you pour your Sundrop out of the can ahead of time into a bowl or clear measuring cup so it will lose some of its “fizz”. Once this is done, you can add to your box mix.

3. Add box of lemon pudding, in powder form to the mixture.

4. Add lemon extract, oil, and eggs.

5. Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes until well blended.

6. Fold in lime zest (and Dorito crumbs if you desire) with a spatula.
7. Optional, for colored batter like pictured above: See my "Fantasy Rainbow Cupcake Tutorial" if you want to layer different colors of green or other color batters inside the cupcake. 

8.  Bake at 325 in cupcake tins (filled about 2/3 full) for appx 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.

MOUNTAIN DEW FROSTING:

13-14 oz Marshmallow Cream

1 lb butter

2 Teaspoons of Lemon Extract

2 Tablespoons Mountain Dew

8-10 Cups Powdered Sugar

For Decorating:

♥Bag 'o' Doritos
♥Little Red or Yellow Heart Candies (they match the colors in the Mountain Dew logo)!
♥If you want to decorate like my rainbow swirls above, my "Fantasy Vanilla Almond Rainbow" tutorial will show you how!

1.  Use a spatula to scrape the fluff and the butter out into your stand mixer.

2.  Mix well until fluffy and well blended.

3.  Gradually add extracts and Mountain Dew for flavoring.

4.  Now add your powdered sugar, slowly until the frosting reaches desired consistency.  (The more powdered sugar you add—the more stiff the frosting will be for decorating).

5.  Last, but not least... Top Each Cupcake with a Dorito!

..If you didn't eat all your cupcakes, you can always turn them into...

Mountain Dew Doritos Cake Pops

(makes appx 30 1 1/2" cake balls)(Click here for a tutorial video)

You will need:

♥Baked Mountain Dew Cupcakes, cooled (see recipe above)
♥Baking Sheet Lined with Parchment Paper
♥Candy Melts
♥Candy Color (in any color you wish.  For Mountain Dew I like to use a dab of green candy color in the white candy melts, that gives it the light green color above).
♥Cake Pop and/or "Sucker" Sticks
♥Cake Pop stand or thick floral foam for cake pops to stand on while they are drying
♥Crumbled up Doritos in a small bowl.  I call them "Doritos Sprinkles" (see technique on crumbling in recipe above).

1.  Once cupcakes are cool, crumble them up into a large bowl or blend in a food processor until cake is all crumbs!
2.  In a large bowl, mix cake crumbs and small dabs of buttercream frosting until cake is a sticky "play dough" consistency. (sticky enough to form into a ball).

3.  Start rolling your cake balls-I roll them into 1" to 1 1/2" cake balls.
4.  Refrigerate until firm enough to dip into melted candy melts.
5.  While cake pops are in the fridge, melt candy melts in a deep microwave proof bowl (on the "defrost" mode until smooth and melted or in 15 second increments until melted.  Watch closely-if you over microwave, candy melts will burn).
6.  Add any candy color desired to your melted candy melts.

Cupcake Bonus: If you want the multi-color "swirl" look pictured above, this is how it's done:
♥Pour melted white candy melts into 3 different bowls.
♥Color each bowl of candy melts a different color (using candy colors of your choice).
♥Select one color as your base and add a tablespoon full of each color to your base.
♥"Twirl" and "Swirl" the colors you just added to your base with a toothpick.  Don't overmix or your colors will all blend together and get muddy.  The goal is for your candy melts to look "marbled" inside the bowl.

7.  Once your cake pops are firm enough for dipping, remove from refrigerator.
8.  Use your melted candy melts as "glue."  One at a time, dip the top part of each cake pop stick in candy melts, and stick 1/2 way down into each cake ball.  Let dry for a few minutes.  This will secure the cake pop stick into the cake ball. And..as magical as it is..you have a cake pop now instead of a lonely cake ball♥
9. Dip each cake pop upside down into the bowl of melted candy melts.  Do not graze the side of the bowl or push the cake pop down into the bottom of the bowl (cake pops are soft and delicate, they will fall off the stick if pushed up against the bowl. Twirl the cake pop gracefully in a circle in the "pool" of melted candy.
10.  Hang the cake pop upside down and lightly shake until the excess candy melts stop dripping off of the cake pop.

11.  Stick the cake pop right side up on stand or in foam to let dry.
12.  Sprinkle on the crumbled Doritos if you want to add Doritos.

If you decorated your cake pops using the "swirl" effect, they might look something like this:♥

Pretty Purple For Our Precious

I've just washed her nightie. 

For the second time. 

She wore it later in the day; well after the operation.

The nurses had to dress her.

She's home. Recovering.

She loves the nightie; comforting and calming she tells me.

It's fresh and smells relaxing with the scent of "Sunshine" fabric softener.

Pop it on my girl and close your eyes. 

An awful couple of weeks.

Let's take it nice and slow.

Easy Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja Recipe

Hola Amigos! This is a super easy, crock it and forget it recipe for Flank Steak. It's based on a traditional Latin dish called Ropa Vieja or Ragged Clothes. My mom makes the best Ropa Vieja ever, and for 10 years now I haven't had the "real stuff" like I like to call it, sad, I know. No matter how much I've tried I just can't make it exactly like hers, so I gave up and decided to wait till my mami cooks some for me and made my own recipe.

There are numerous versions to this dish, mine has only a few ingredients and that is what I really love. Lots of flavor, very little effort. The key is the day before you know you are going to cook your Flank Steak, Season it! It will pay up with taste I promise you!

My other favorite ingredients are easily found on the Latin isle of your grocery store, Mojo Criollo, Sazon with Coriander and Annatto and Recaito (cilantro base). These ingredients will put the Latin flavor to your beef and every meal without the typical Mexican seasonings most people are used to.

The best way to eat this savory dish is with a side of rice and a side of black beans and plantains! I couldn't find any plantains at my store when I was about to make it (now there's a ton) but just the black beans and rice are heavenly.

Now if you are my husband, then you skip this and go straight for a bun and cheese! Hey, I won't argue, as long as it gets eaten I'm good...(he wouldn't be able to do this to my mom,  though,  lol )

Have a great weekend friends and remember everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!  and the hubs just added...and a bun!

Besitos,

Lizy

Easy Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja

Ingredients: 

1 (1 1/2) Flank Steak

1-2 Cloves Garlic mashed

Salt, Pepper

1 Large Onion, sliced

1 Orange Bell Pepper, diced*

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, diced*

1/2 Cup Goya Mojo Criollo

3/4 Cup Beef Stock

1 Flavor Packet Sazon Goya with Coriander and Annato (Achiote)  

1 TBSP Goya Recaito (Cilantro Base)

1 TBSP Ketchup

Cooked white or dirty rice

Cooked Black Beans 

* Red is ok too.

Directions:

The day before you are going to cook your Ropa Vieja, season the flank steak  by rubbing it with the mashed garlic cloves salt and pepper, put a zip lock bag in the refrigerator until the moment you are ready to cook it.

The next day, put your flank steak in the crock pot with sliced onions, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, Mojo, stock, Sazon, Recaito and ketchup. Place lid and cook for 4 hours,

Once it's done, shred the beef using 2 forks and mix it up with the remaining of the cooking sauce. Garnish with some diced peppers and serve with a side of rice and beans. Or if you choose on  a bun with cheese.

Prep Time: At last 3 hour seasoning          Cook Time: 4 hours                 Serves 4

Sharing some Latin Flavors at these Fabulous Parties:

The Best Blog Recipes, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, 504 Main, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Simply Designing, The Answer is Chocolate, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, The Pin Junkie, Not your Ordinary Recipes, A Peek into my Paradise, Sunny Simple Life, Diana Rambles, Tatertots and Jello, The Wondering Brain, Nap Time Crafters, 30 Handmade Days, Just Us 4, Five Days 5 Ways, Frugal Fit Family, Six Sister's Stuff, It's Overflowing, A little Claireification, Be Different Act Normal, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Serenity You, Funkie Junk Interiors, Angles Homestead, Sewlicious Home Decor, Spatulas on Parade, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Twigg Studios, Flamingo Toes, Suburbs Mama, EMM, Twelve O Eight, Under the Table and Dreaming, VMG206, Titi Crafty, The Chicken Chick, Pursuit of Functional Home, Lines Across, Huckleberry Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Say Not Sweet Anne, Flour Me with Love, DIY Home Sweet Home, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Sew Can Do, This Gal Cooks, jembellish, A Pinch of Love, Hun..what's for Dinner?, Adventures of a DIY Mom, The Shady Porch, Lady Behind the Curtain, I Gotta Try That, Table for Seven, Memories by the Mile, With a Blast, Not Just a Housewife, All She Cooks, Kitchen Meets Girl, Thank You Honey, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, The Everyday Home, My Girlish Whims, Cozy Little House, Clean and Scentsible, Shaffer Sisters, White Lights on Wednesday, The 36th Avenue, Fluster Buster, This Silly Girl's Life, Polkadots on Parade, 733 Blog, SNAP, What is Cooking Love?, The Real Housewives of Riverton, The Mandatory Mooch, Real Coake, Made to be a Momma, I Gotta Create, Live Laugh Rowe, Lamberts Lately, Creative Geekery, The Brambleberry Cottage, 52 Mantels, Saving 4 Six, Food Done Light, The Crafty Blogstalker, Considered Me Inspired, Jennifer Rizzo, Simple Dream and Create, House of Hepworths, The Girl Creative, Cindy's Recipes and Writings, My Turn (for Us), Rattlebridge Farm, Chef in Training, My Mixing Spoons, Home Stories A to Z

Other Panamanian dishes you might like:

Ensalada de Fiesta

my hunger games

I'm running and running and running these days.
Literally.
Lots of miles.
Dirty, beautiful, hard, hilly miles.
So at almost any time of day, I am hungry.
Always. Hungry.
When I'm running I crave carbs (who are we kidding, I crave carbs all the time), and I'm always looking for hearty snacks to fit my cravings and tame my hunger.

a few phone snaps from my saturday run


Over the weekend I made

The Cheesiest Salmon Mac'n Cheese Recipe

Hola Amigos! I love a good Mac'n Cheese and I love it even more with my favorite fish ever, Salmon! You could easily substitute the salmon  with hamburger, chicken, tuna or just have it plain! I just happened to get some salmon on sale and since it was just a little over half pound it wasn't going to be enough to feed us all as it.

So what makes this Mac'n Cheese the cheesiest? well how about 3 cups of cheese melted in a deliciously creamy Bechamel sauce and then baked to golden perfection! Did I mention that there is 3 kind of cheese too? yummm.

Perhaps this dish is not to have every week in fear of getting an expanding waste, but the days soon will be getting colder and mac'n cheese is the go to comfort food of excellence and loved by all!

You will love this recipe. It's one of those which taste even better the next day...if there're any leftovers.
Thank you for your visit today! Hope you are enjoying your week so far! Keep in mind my friends, that no matter how humble the dish is, it will always taste better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

The Cheesiest Salmon Mac'n Cheese

Ingredients:

10-12 ounces uncooked elbow noodles

2 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

3 TBSP Butter

1/4 Cup Flour

Salt, Pepper to taste

1 1/2 TBSP Seafood Seasoning and a little extra to sprinkle on top

2 Cups Queso Quesadilla

1 Cup Cheese Crumbs (Mine came with Cheddar, Mozzarella and Colby)

10-12 ounces cooked salmon (I used 8 ounces regular salmon and 4 ounces of smoked) 

green onions for garnish.

Directions:

Heat up your oven at 350 degrees

Cook your elbow noodles in salted boiling water until tender but not extremely soft. Al dente is what you are looking for. Drain, set aside.

In a saucepan prepare your Bechamel sauce by melting the butter. Once melted add flour, salt, pepper and seafood seasoning to create your roux. Slowly add your milk first whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add the cream and cook on medium low heat for 10 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat.

Add your 2 cups of cheese to the Bechamel sauce. gently mix until the cheese is melted. 

Fold the noodles in this sauce. Don't break them.

Put some of the noodles in a baking dish, Top them with half a cup of your cheese crumbles, add more noodles and the rest of your crumbles. Sprinkle your noodles with as much as the seafood seasoning as you wish.

Place in the oven for 35 minutes until golden and bubbly! Listo, Serve and enjoy!

Prep Time 20 minutes                    Cooking  Time (in the oven) 30-35 minutes               Serves 6-8

Sharing some of my comfort food classics at these Fabulous Parties:

The Everyday Home, All She Cooks, Thank You Honey, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lady Behind the Curtain, Made to be a Momma, My Girlish Whims, The Shady Porch, Kitchen Meets Girl, Homade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Not Just a Housewife, Powerful Mothering, Hope Studios, Fluster Buster, Food Done Light, Sweet Haute, A Handful of Everything, Katherine's Corner, What's Cooking Love?, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Saving 4 Six, Pink Recipe Box, Real Coake, The Real Housewives of Riverton, Creative Geekery, The Brambleberry Cottage, Lamberts Lately, House of Hepworths, Live Laugh Rowe, We Learn as we Go,Jennifer Rizzo, Create Craft Love, The Best Blog Recipes, My Turn (for Us), My Personal Accent, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, Tidy Mom, A Simple Five, 504 Main, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Liz Marie Blog. Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, The Answer is Chocolate, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, The Pin Junkie, In the Kitchen with Jenny, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, A Peek into my Paradise, Chic on a Shoestring, Sunny simple Life, Diana Rambles, Tatertots and Jello, The Wondering Brain, Nap Time Crafters, 30 Handmade Days, Just Us 4, Five Days 5 Ways, Frugal Fit Family, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing, A Little Claireification, Be Different Act Normal, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Serenity You, Funkie Junk Interiors, Angels Homestead, Sewlicious Home Decor, Spatulas on Parade, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Twigg Studios, Flamingo Toes, Suburbs Mama, EMM, Twelve O Eight, Under the Table and Dreaming, VMG206, My Mixing Spoons, Titi Crafty, The Chicken Chick, Pursuit of Functional Home, Lines Across, Huckleberry Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Say Not Sweet Anne, Flour Me with Love, DIY Home Sweet Home, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Sew Can Do, This Gal Cooks, Jembellish, A Pinch of Love, Adventures of a DIY Mom, I Gotta Try That, Table for Seven, Whit a Blast, Rattlebridge Farm, Sara Howe


Other Recipes that You Might Like
Pasta on Creamy Crab Sauce

Rum and Coke Mocktail Milkshake Recipe

Hola Amigos! Where did Summer go? We're about to have the last unofficial BBQ and summer party of the season and I'm saying goodbye with a great mocktail, Rum and Coke turned into a shake, no alcohol here, BUT if you wanted to say bye with a Bang..why not, it's your party, you can do what you want to, or so the song goes, lol.

It's refreshing and rich, better than the actual highball since could have as many as you want without a hangover the next day...well, maybe a few extra minutes at the gym but that's always a good thing.

I was checking Wiki for the origins of Rum and Coke aka Cuba Libre and I found a whole variety of cocktails derived from this popular one, Cuban Missile Crisis, Midas, "Hot" Cuba Libre and my favorite name so far, Witch Doctor, sounds perfect for Halloween don't you think.

What are your plans for this last week (kind of) of summer? Some good fun family get together, last minute picnic? a labor day parade? whatever it is, I hope you think of including this delicious drink in your menu! It is good and even better when you add a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Rum and Coke Mocktail  Milkshake
Ingredients:
6 oz Coke
1 TBSP Lime Juice
1 Pint Vanilla Bean or Good Quality Vanilla Ice Cream
1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tsps Imitation Rum Extract (or the real thing if you choose to)
Directions:
Put all the ingredients on a blender and mix until smooth. Serve and Enjoy

Prep Time: 5 minutes          Serves 2 (6 oz glasses)

Sharing one last drink at these Fabulous Parties:

Love Bakes Good Cakes, The Everyday Home, All She Cooks, Thank You Honey, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lady Behind the Curtain, Made to be a Momma, My Girlish Whims, The Shady Porch, Creations by Kara, Kitchen Meets Girl, Homemade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Not Just a Housewife, Powerful Mothering, Hope Studios, Fluster Buster, Twin Dragonfly Designs, The Trendy Tree House, White Lights on Wednesday, Food Done Light, Sweet Haute, A Handful of Everything, Katherine's Corner, What's Cooking Love?, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Saving 4 Six, Ducks n' a Row, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Pink Recipe Box, Real Coake, SNAP, The Real Housewives of Riverton, Creative Geekery, The Brambleberry Cottage, Lamberts Lately, House of Hepworths, Live Laugh Rowe, We Learn as we Go, Jennifer Rizzo, Create Craft Love, Glitz and Gold, The Best Blog Recipes, My Turn (for Us), My Personal Accent, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, Tidy Mom, A Simple Five, 504 Main, Kitchen fun with my 3 Sons, My Romantic Home, Liz Marie Blog, Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, The Answer is Chocolate, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, The Pin Junkie, In the Kitchen with Jenny, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, A Peek into my Paradise, Chic on a Shoestring, Sunny Simple Life, Diana Rambles, Tatertots and Jello, The Wondering Brain, Nap Time Crafters, 30 Handmade Days, Just Us 4, Five Days 5 Ways, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing, A Little Claireification, B Different Act Normal, What's cooking with Ruthie, Serenity You, Funkie Junk Interiors, Angels Homestead, Sewlicious Home Decor, Spatulas on Parade, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Twigg Studios, Flamingo Toes, Suburbs Mama, EMM, Twelve O Eight, Under the Table and Dreaming, VMG 206, My Mixing Spoons, Titi Crafty, The Chicken Chick, Pursuit of Functional Home, Lines Across, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Say Not Sweet Anne, Flour Me With Love, DIY Home Sweet Home, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Sew Can Do, This Gal Cooks, Jembellish, A Pinch of Joy

Other Soda Drinks You Might Enjoy

Cherry Cola Smoothie

Fresh Rosemary Bread

"With a piece of bread in your hand you’ll find paradise under a pine tree."

 

– Russian Proverb

I made this rosemary bread to eat at a BBQ I hosted. Bread may seem strange to serve at a BBQ, homemade bread even stranger perhaps. Here's the way I see it. When guests come over to my house, I want them to eat well. Of course you want them to eat well, you say! What that means to me is to serve food you don't normally get. Special food.  What that means from one person to the next is subjective. For these particular guests, I know they like bread, for example. I also know that one of them loves dessert and goes on and on about fresh whipped cream.

I used fresh rosemary from my very mature rosemary bush. I've added different amounts in the recipe for mature rosemary such as mine, or rosemary from the grocery store since mature homegrown rosemary is stronger in taste than what you would get from the grocery store.

So for dessert I served a homemade pound cake (recipe coming soon) topped with fresh peaches and lots of really spectacular homemade whipped cream. What made it so special is I used the best cream available to me, Twinbrook Creamery cream. Almost raw, and from Jersey cows, so it's even higher in fat content. I mean this stuff is ridiculous.

My bread rising it's first rise

Bread isn't really special in and of itself, but homemade bread is quite special. The smell that wafts through your house while it bakes is hypnotizing. I mean how often do you get homemade bread?

My dough rounds about to rise for the second time

Since I'm in the kitchen most of the day when guests come, making bread is easy. Most of the time spent is in the rising. I used a Kitchen aid mixer to knead my dough, but even if you knead it by hand, that only takes 10 minutes or so. Definitely worth it. Heck, if you have a bread machine, you could make the dough on the dough setting and just bake off the rounds in the oven.

After the second rise, ready for the oven

This bread in particular is crazy cheap too. I mean it's only flour, yeast, a bit of sugar, some rosemary, (My rosemary came from my garden so I didn't have to pay for it) and a little olive oil.

After baking shortly you brush the bread with oil and top with more rosemary and some coarse salt

This bread is well worth the little effort it takes. The recipe is adapted from Food Network's, Almost Famous Rosemary Bread. It has lots of great reviews with good reason. It's soft and tender, and fragrant with fresh rosemary. I love the crunchy bits of salt that top the bread. It can be dipped into olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or simply spread with soft butter.

Right out of the oven!

We ate our bread with a Caprese salad with buratta cheese and heirloom tomatoes. We drank watermelon mojitos made with fresh mint from my garden. Our dinner was kebabs on the BBQ, with 3 different homemade dipping sauces: fresh pineapple teriyaki, chimichurri, and a tzatziki sauce. It was a fun and relaxing warm summer night, filled with laughter, great friends and great food.

Here is the BBQ where I served this bread. The salad is a Caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and Burrata. It was delicious!

 

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Fresh Rosemary Bread



This recipe is adapted from Almost Famous Rosemary Bread from Foodnetwork.com

This recipe makes 4 small rounds

The bread is best eaten the same day it's made

Ingredients

1 1/4 oz. packet (or 2 1/2 tsp.) of active dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

2 Tablespoons olive oil plus more for brushing

2 1/2 cups (312 g.) all purpose flour plus more for dusting

4 Tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped finely (if you have your own rosemary bush and it's pretty mature, use 3 - 3 1/2 Tablespoons) If you are buying it from the store, use the 4 Tablespoons. OR if using dried rosemary, use 1 Tablespoon

1 tsp. fine salt


For Topping Bread

Kosher salt or another type of coarse salt

1/2 Tablespoon fresh, finely chopped Rosemary - or if using dried also use 1/2 Tablespoon

Directions

Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup of warm water (105°–115° Fahrenheit, (41°–46° Celsius) 
in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer.) Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the flour, the rosemary, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon (or with the dough hook if using a mixer) until a dough forms. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting lightly with flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Or knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding a little flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.) I used a mixer with the dough hook and I needed to add a little more flour. If it feels too wet when done kneading, add more flour until it feels like dough and is not wet or sticky.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, then fold the top and bottom portions into the middle. Fold in the sides to make a free-form square. Use a spatula to turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting 2 balls on each baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, until more than doubled, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 6.

Bake the loaves 10 minutes; brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the kosher or coarse salt and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon rosemary. Continue baking until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.


I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!