Do you have something that you absolutely love to have as a treat?  Something that is incredibly yummy but costs an arm and a leg?  I have a few of these things and when I truly get tired of paying the exhorbinent price that the store is asking I try to make it for myself.
 
Case in point; rosemary and potato bread at 6.99 a loaf.  Really?  Don’t get me wrong-this is good bread but I don’t think almost seven dollars worth of good and I have a large husband who can easily eat a loaf of this golden stuff by himself.
Warning:  Gratuitous photo of cute child and husband ahead
I love this bread but for a very obvious reason I don’t get it very often.
But I want it-often.  When faced with this quandary of want over need I usually make a list in my head of all the things that I like about the original and gauge the recipe from there.
1)  This bread has a gorgeous sweetness to it but doesn’t take sweet at the same time so I’m using 2 T. of honey to begin.
It’s very light but also chewy so it must have a fair amount of yeast.  1 T. should do the trick.
1 cup of warm water.
Check for the correct temperature (lukewarm) and give everything a bit of a mix.
When the yeast is frothy I’ll add 3 T. of really good olive oil to add in the rich taste as well as help with the chewiness.
Add in another cup of water and up to 6 cups of flour for a soft but not wet dough.

Knead a few times and let rest (with the mixing bowl turned over top of it) for 30 minutes.  This isn’t a REALLY light bread so I don’t want it to double in size like a bread usually does.
The topping is what really makes this bread so I’ve got a lovely, Yukon gold potato and about 3 T. of fresh rosemary ready to go.
Slice the potato, paperthin and chop the rosemary roughly.
The original shape I think give this bread lots of crunchy sides so I’ll pull it into a long rectangle.
Drizzle with more olive oil (be generous) and poke holes every inch or so to give the oil a place to sit while the bread proofs for 15 more minutes and then cooks.

After proofing I’m adding my layer of potatoes, rosemary, crunchy sea salt and really coarsely ground pepper (a lot! because the original is almost spicy).

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the bottom is golden and brown.

Just the way I like it but without the hefty price tag to go with them.  Now if I can only figure-out these neat olive oil cookie/crackers from Spain. hmmmm…

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