Tangy, crusty, cheesy, and herby, this recipe for Sourdough Parmesan Rosemary Bread is sure to impress. Made with just 6 simple ingredients, this tasty loaf is an easy variation on my classic Dutch-Oven Sourdough Bread that the whole family is sure to love.
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
When it comes to bread, I love all types. From fluffy enriched brioche to salty-sweet Hawaiian, crusty sourdough to soft & herby focaccia and flatbread, they all have my carb-loving heart. Whether I eat a slice with just a smear of butter, use it to mop up a bowl of soup, or turn it into a delightful tartine or sandwich, bread is simply one of my love languages.
Plus, making homemade bread is SO FUN! As a home baker, watching the incredible transformation of a few simple pantry ingredients into a loaf of bakery-worthy goodness is one of the most satisfying ways I can think to spend an afternoon.
This tasty rosemary parmesan bread is a simple riff on my from-scratch Dutch oven sourdough recipe, adding just two simple additions to turn the loaf into a savory masterpiece. Hard, salty cheese and fresh herbs are a match made in heaven, especially when woven throughout a perfectly tangy, crusty loaf of bread.
While the recipe for this rustic sourdough rosemary bread is a bit time-consuming, none of the steps are particularly difficult. It’ll take 24 hours from start to finish, but most of the time is spent waiting.
As they say, “patience is a virtue” and “good things take time,” so hang in there till the end. If you do, you’ll be rewarded with the most marvelous loaf of yeasty, cheesy, herby goodness you could ever wish for. Now, on to the kitchen!
Looking for more sourdough recipes to try? How about this Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Dutch Oven Sourdough or Sourdough Garlic Bread!
🍴Ingredients
Despite what you may think, you don’t need much for this cheesy rosemary bread recipe. Here’s what to gather:
- Active Sourdough Starter - Feel free to make your own starter using just flour and water, or purchase (or borrow!) some pre-made starter online, in specialty stores, or from your bread-making buddy in town.
- Water - If possible, use filtered water. Your sourdough will end up tasting better for it!
- Bread Flour - While you technically can swap in all-purpose flour here, I prefer using higher-protein bread flour for most of my homemade bread recipes. More protein = more gluten, which means you’ll get a better structure, ergo a better loaf.
- Salt - I use regular kosher salt for basically everything in the kitchen, but sea salt will also do. If possible, avoid using iodized table salt as it leaves behind a bitter taste.
- Parmesan - Do yourself a favor and grate your own cheese. The pre-grated kind is coated with an anti-caking substance that prevents it from melting properly.
- Rosemary - Fresh rosemary is the perfect match for umami parmesan. Feel free to swap in piney-flavored chopped sage, marjoram, or savory instead.
- Rice Flour - You’ll want rice flour for dusting your banneton because it is gluten-free, unlike your sourdough. Other flours like AP or bread flour will absorb moisture from the dough, which can cause it to stick to the proofing basket. Rice flour will not. Pro Tip: If you don’t have rice flour on hand, be super heavy-handed with your AP or bread flour to create enough of a barrier.
⚒️ Equipment
Dutch oven rosemary bread doesn’t require a ton of kitchen equipment, either. Here’s what I suggest you use:
- Heavy Cast Iron Dutch Oven - Baking sourdough in a hot dutch oven provides the perfect humid environment for the loaf to become golden and crusty. If you don’t have one, you can swap in a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. That said, do yourself a favor and invest in a pretty one — you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a quality dutch oven these days!
- Banneton Basket - Also known as a bread-proofing banneton basket or a brotform, bannetons come in basically every size and shape imaginable and they help to impart a pretty design on your crust.
- Razor - While you can totally get a specific bread scoring knife known as a lamé, you don’t need one if you’re just giving breadmaking a try. Just grab a fresh, clean razor blade instead!
- Parchment - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: parchment is a non-negotiable in the baking world! In this instance, it’ll allow you to carefully lower your sourdough bread into a preheated dutch oven without burning yourself or dropping the loaf.
📖 Step by Step Instructions
If you're a visual learner like I am, I've added a recipe video that goes through the entire process of making sourdough bread here to accompany the following directions. Let's get started!
MIXING THE SOURDOUGH DOUGH
Step 1: Make Levain. Mix active starter and water together before adding bread flour and mix until homogenous approximately 12 hours before you start the process of making your sourdough loaf. Place in a covered container at room temperature.
Step 2: Autolyse. Mix your levain and warm water together until combined in a large bowl. Then mix in the bread flour until little to no clumps remain with a spatula, wooden spoon or your hands and cover with a tea towel, plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel for 45 minutes.
Step 3: Add Salt. Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to your dough and mix with a spatula or your hands until the salt granules have dissolved completely into the dough. Place in a bowl greased with one tablespoon of olive oil, cover, and set aside to rest for another 45 minutes.
FOLDING THE SOURDOUGH DOUGH
Step 4: Folding The Dough - 2x Plain, 2x With Cheese & Herbs. Gently stretch the dough in an upwards motion before placing back onto itself - do this four times every 30 minutes rotating around the dough as you do so. The first two times, fold the plain dough. In the remaining two folds, add the parmesan and rosemary. Repeat for a total of 4 times over 2 hours. Once you’ve folded the dough 4 separate times, let the dough rest for 45 minutes before continuing.
Step 5: Pre-Shape. Shape the bread into a boule or circle by turning it out onto a work surface or wooden cutting board greased with a touch of olive oil. Gently stretch 6 sides of the dough into the center to create a circular shape. Then, place the dough upside down and drag the dough gently while creating friction towards yourself about ten times. Allow the dough to rest, covered by a towel for 30 minutes before continuing.
Step 6: Final Shape. Once again, follow the instructions above to build surface tension on the top of the bread before placing the dough seam side up into a banneton dusted with rice flour for best results. Place in the fridge for an overnight rest and the final rise.
SCORING AND BAKING YOUR SOURDOUGH LOAF
Step 7: Preheat. The next day or next morning, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with your dutch oven placed inside while preheating - turn on your timer for 45 minutes. After turning on your oven, remove your sourdough from the fridge.
Step 8: Score. Grab a piece of parchment paper larger than the diameter of the dough and flip the cold dough onto the parchment paper. Using a lame, razor blade sharp knife or kitchen shears, score the top of the loaf from top to bottom.
Step 9: Bake. Once your 45-minute timer has gone off, place the loaf into your preheated Dutch oven. Bake for about 25 minutes or until you start to see a hint of browning on the edges and top of your loaf. Once you see the top start to brown, you can remove the dutch oven lid completely. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the loaf of bread is a rich, dark golden brown with a crispy crust.
PRO TIP: Be careful not to burn yourself (ouch!) or drop in your sourdough (which will deflate your last rise)! The parchment paper is your friend here - use the parchment paper as grips to gently lower the loaf into the dutch oven and place the lid on top.
Step 10: Remove Loaf & Cool. Remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully remove the sourdough from within - I usually use a small spatula to coax one side of the bread from the bottom of the dutch oven, allowing me to remove the hot sourdough loaf and place it on a cooling rack for a minimum of 1 hour.
For more tips on how to store sourdough bread, head over to my in-depth guide!
⏲️ Substitutions & Variations
There are all kinds of tasty cheese and herb variations to choose from, and while I simply LOVE this parmesan rosemary sourdough, there’s always room for experimentation. Here are some of my other favorite combos if you're looking for another good idea:
- Cheddar & Thyme.
- Asiago & Black Pepper.
- Pepperjack & Oregano.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Making this parmesan rosemary sourdough bread takes a bit of patience and diligent instruction-following skills. Here are a few other tips to help you make the best loaf of your life:
- Get a kitchen scale. When it comes to the science of bread baking, it is imperative that you’re measuring your ingredients as precisely and accurately as possible. This is why I highly recommend that you invest in a kitchen scale! Dry ingredients in particular can vary widely in terms of weight vs. volume depending on how you measure them. Using a scale will also save you time; cut back on cleanup; and will allow for more consistent baking success - a total win!
- Grate your own cheese. Buying pre-grated cheese seems like a great time-saving step, but to keep the shreds from coagulating into a single lump, they dust them in a starchy powder that prevents them from melting well.
- Read through the recipe instructions and watch the video all the way through at least once before starting. Making bread isn’t hard, but it is technical. Make sure to give yourself all the tools at your disposal for the best chances of success!
- For more tips & tricks, check out my Dutch oven sourdough bread post and my ultimate primer on sourdough starter!
💭 Recipe FAQs
If you keep it in an airtight container on the counter, it should last for 3-4 days. However, if you want it to last longer, I suggest slicing it, placing it in a plastic bag, and freezing for up to a month. Whenever a bread craving strikes, just grab a slice!
I prefer bread flour, which has a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. More protein means more gluten, which in turn means a better structure for the bread to be crusty on the outside and irregularly crumbed on the inside. YUM!
I suggest reaching for a round dutch oven that is no smaller than 4 quarts and no larger than 7 quarts. I personally like using my 5 ½ quart dutch oven for making this sourdough loaf.
More Homemade Bread Recipes
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Sourdough Parmesan Rosemary Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Levain
- 20 g (1 Heaping Tablespoon) Sourdough Starter, 100% hydration, float test before using
- 80 g (⅓ cup) Water
- 80 g (⅔ cup) Bread Flour
Sourdough Bread
- 100 g (½ cup) Levain
- 360 g (1 ½ cups) Water, 70 degrees F ideally
- 500 g (4 cups) Bread Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- Olive oil - for greasing bowl
- 3 Tablespoons Rosemary
- 50 g (½ cup) Parmesan , Freshly grated
- 3 Tablespoons Rice flour - for dusting banneton
Instructions
Levain
- Make sure to do a float test - It’s the best way to tell if your starter is fresh. Simply pinch off about 1 tablespoon of your starter and place it in a glass of water. If it floats, you're in business!
- Mix 20g of starter and water together before adding bread flour and mix until homogenous approximately 12 hours before you start the process of making your Sourdough loaf. Place in a covered container at room temperature.20 g Sourdough Starter, 80 g Water, 80 g Bread Flour
Sourdough Bread
- Mix your levain and water together until combined. Then mix in the bread flour until little to no clumps remain with a spatula or your hands and cover for 45 minutes. This is called the autolyse - hydrating your flour prior to moving on to the next step.100 g Levain, 360 g Water, 500 g Bread Flour
- *When making sourdough it’s helpful to have a little bowl of water nearby - dipping your hands in water prior to working with the wet, sticky dough will help immensely!
- Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to your dough and mix with a spatula or your hands until the salt granules have dissolved completely into the dough. Place in a bowl greased with one tablespoon of olive oil, cover, and set aside to rest for another 45 minutes.2 Teaspoons Salt, Olive oil - for greasing bowl
- Gently stretch the dough in an upwards motion before placing back onto itself - do this four times every 30 minutes rotating around the dough as you do so. The first two times, fold the plain dough. In the remaining two folds, add the parmesan and rosemary. Repeat for a total of 4 times over 2 hours. Once you’ve folded the dough 4 separate times, let the dough rest for 45 minutes before continuing.3 Tablespoons Rosemary, 50 g Parmesan
- Pre-shape - Shape the bread into a boule or circle by turning it out onto a wooden cutting board greased with a touch of olive oil. Gently stretch 6 sides of the dough into the center to create a circular shape. Then, flip the ball of dough upside down and drag the dough gently while creating friction towards yourself about ten times. This process is show in detail within the video below. Allow the dough to rest, covered by a towel for 30 minutes before continuing.
- Final Shape - Once again, follow the instructions above before placing the dough seam side up into a banneton dusted with rice flour.3 Tablespoons Rice flour - for dusting banneton
- The next morning, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with your dutch oven placed inside while preheating - turn on your timer for 45 minutes. After turning on your oven, remove your sourdough from the fridge. Grab a piece of parchment paper larger than the diameter of the dough and flip the cold dough onto the parchment paper. Using a lame or a razor blade, score the bread one ⅓ of the loaf from top to bottom. See the video below for an example! Once your 45 minute timer has gone off, place the loaf into your preheated dutch oven. Be careful not to burn yourself or drop in your sourdough! The parchment paper is your friend here - use the parchment paper as grips to gently lower the loaf into the dutch oven and place the lid on top.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until you start to see a hint of browning on the edges and top of your loaf. Once you see the top start to brown, you can remove the lid completely. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the bread is a rich, dark golden brown.
- Remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully remove the sourdough from within - I usually use a small spatula to coax one side of the bread from the bottom of the dutch oven, allowing me to remove the hot sourdough loaf and place it on a cooling rack.
- It will be very challenging to wait before cutting into the loaf, but I promise you it’s worth it! Cutting into your bread when it is too hot could ruin it’s structure - I usually wait an hour at the very least before diving in unless you don’t mind cutting in early.
Video
Notes
- Where can I get sourdough starter? You can easily make your own using flour and water, or you can buy it online or from specialty stores. If you have any friends who like to make bread, I’d also bet they have some they’d happily gift you!
- How long does homemade sourdough bread last? If you keep it in an airtight container on the counter, it should last for 3-4 days. However, if you want it to last longer, I suggest slicing it, placing it in a plastic bag, and freezing for up to a month. Whenever a bread craving strikes, just grab a slice!
- What is the best flour for sourdough bread? I prefer bread flour, which has a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. More protein means more gluten, which in turn means a better structure for the bread to be crusty on the outside and irregularly crumbed on the inside. YUM!
- What is the best size dutch oven for baking bread? I suggest reaching for one that is no smaller than 4 quarts and no larger than 7 quarts.
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