Epicurious Rosemary Flat Bread Recipe

Pictured with Ethiopian Chick Pea Stew

• 2 1/2 cups Gold Medal "Better for Bread" flour*
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (also known as rapid-rise or bread machine yeast)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups water, room temperature (70 to 90°F)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Vegetable oil or nonstick vegetable-oil spray
• 2 tablespoons fresh whole rosemary needles
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt such as fleur de sel
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place ingredients in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer and use "dough" setting. Once the dough has finished, take out of the pan.

Brush a large baking sheet with 2 tsp. of olive oil. Using greased fingertips, shape dough into a 12 by 5 1/2 inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap which has been spayed with vegetable spray (Pam) and allow to rise for about an hour (until doubled in size).

Bake bread:
While dough is rising, position rack near bottom of oven and top with baking stone or heavy baking sheet. Set aluminum-foil-lined cast-iron pan or heavy rimmed baking pan on floor of oven and preheat oven to 475°F for 1 hour.

Using fingertips, deeply dimple dough all over. Sprinkle with rosemary, coarse salt, and pepper. Quickly transfer baking sheet to hot baking stone** and add 1/2 cup ice cubes to pan beneath. 

Bake bread, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through, until top is golden brown and skewer inserted into center comes out clean (instant-read thermometer inserted into center will register about 210°F), 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer bread from baking sheet to rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

**For proper texture, it's important for the bread to get a blast of heat as soon as it goes into the oven. For this reason, the oven needs to be preheated for a full hour, and it's important not to let too much heat escape when you put the bread in. When transferring the dough to the oven to bake, be sure to shut the door quickly.