Knead to know: bread that comes in a can cannot be called bread

Until recently, I was a rebel without a cause. Bankrupt of beliefs, pathetically apolitical, unable to stand for anything. But I’ve finally found something worth raging against: canned brown bread, the bastard child of baked goods.

I stumbled upon this strange staple of New England cupboards shelved amongst the baked beans. Bread? In a can? Appalled yet curious, I tossed it in my basket. It landed with an audible thud.

Back in my kitchen, I brandished a can opener on both ends, exhuming a dense cylinder embedded with indentations from the aluminum. Disgust rose in me as I stared at it standing upright on the cutting board. This is not bread.

Real bread is one of the simplest yet satisfying pleasures; crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, still warm whenever possible. Baguettes, brioche, ciabatta, challah; I love them all. To call a canned leaden mass by the same name is unnerving.

Granted, I’m a bit biased. As a child I lived above our family market and every day before dawn the baker would silently slip inside our home, leaving several dozen crusty Italian loaves at the bottom of the stairs. The scent would rouse me awake and, still in my pj’s, I would run down to grab a loaf for our breakfast. Even now my mouth waters with the memory of tearing off a still-warm piece and slathering it with chocolate-hazelnut spread, or sometimes just butter.

Now that, damn Yankees, is bread.

Fresh Rosemary Bread

1 cup lukewarm water (around 110 degrees)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 400.

Place water in large bowl and sprinkle in yeast and sugar. Allow it to stand until it bubbles, around 5 minutes or so.

Mix two cups of the flour, salt and about half of the rosemary into the yeast mixer. Place dough on a floured surface and begin to knead, adding in remaining flour. Knead at least 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a bowl rubbed with olive oil and cover with a towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

Remove dough from bowl and thoroughly punch down. Divide into two and let rest about 10-15 minutes.

Shape dough into two oval loaves and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle remaining rosemary over tops.

Place on either baking sheets greased with cooking spray, or a preheated baking stone.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned.