This Instant Pot Garlic Rosemary Bread is a soft, delicious yeast bread made with browned butter, fresh rosemary, and garlic. It rises in an Instant Pot and bakes in the oven!

HOMEMADE BREAD

Anytime I have an excuse to make homemade bread, I’m happy. First, I adore the taste of fresh, warm bread. Second, I don’t think there is much homier than the smell of yeast bread rising or baking. It just makes me happy.

Growing up my mom made this North Carolina Sourdough Bread on a regular basis, so I suppose that the smell and taste of bread just brings back memories of childhood holiday meals!

BREAD MACHINES

In college I had a bread machine that I used a good bit. It was fine, but I was never happy with the sides and bottom of the bread – I thought they came out too crispy. I much preferred to let the bread rise in my kitchen and then bake it in the oven. However, when I needed the bread to rise quicker, I went for the bread machine.

Recently I found out that an Instant Pot (using the yogurt setting) is a good way to make bread rise faster, without having to use a bread machine. I was pumped.

INSTANT POT GARLIC ROSEMARY BREAD

It took several tries to get the bread just how I wanted. The first time, I let it rise for too long, and it ended up falling into a big pancake when I cooked it. Although I was unhappy with the density, it was one tasty, dense pancake.

The second time I added in some browned butter and worked with the timing and kneading. It was much better. The final time I made some tweaks to get it exactly how I wanted. This final recipe for Instant Pot Garlic Rosemary Bread is exactly what I was wanting! It’s soft, good for dipping in olive oil, and delicious! The perfect side dish for Italian or soup!

DUTCH OVEN UPDATE (2/14/2019)

The past time I made this bread, I decided to cook it in a dutch oven. It allows for a crispy top that is delicious! The texture of the inside of the bread is similar, but in a dutch oven the bread bakes much taller (above photos are labeled with the method by which they were cooked so you can compare). Directions now include baking instructions for both a cookie sheet and a dutch oven.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 packet active dry yeast NOT rapid rise
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup warm water not boiling or hot
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped, divided

Instructions

  • In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Continuously stir until butter turns amber in color and has a nutty smell. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  • In a small bowl stir together water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes before using.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together both flours, salt, garlic powder, and 1 tbsp of rosemary. Next, stir in 1 tbsp of cooled butter.
  • Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix yeast mixture into flour mixture until a soft, round dough forms.
  • Use cooking spray to spray a glass bowl that will fit into Instant Pot. Place dough in bowl, then roll dough over so that it will be covered on all sides with cooking spray. Cover dough with plastic wrap.
  • Place a metal rack (the one that comes with Instant Pot works well) into the bottom of the pot. Place bowl on rack. Turn Instant Pot on yogurt mode. Let rise until doubled in size, about 45-55 minutes. Note: I use a clear Instant Pot slow cooker lid to watch the dough rise, but if you don’t have one of these, you can use the regular Instant Pot lid and remove it to check after 45 minutes – just try to remove lid as little as possible.
  • Remove dough and punch down, then kneed about 5 times. Shape dough into a loaf sized shape and put on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with clean dish cloth and let rise for at least 45 minutes.
  • Cookie Sheet Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle remaining rosemary over top of bread. Bake bread for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. While bread is still warm, use brush to cover top of bread with remaining browned butter.
  • Dutch Oven Method: Place dutch oven (pot and lid) in oven and then turn on oven to 450 degrees (the dutch oven is preheating in the oven). While oven and pot are preheating, sprinkle about 1 tbsp of flour over top of bread. Use a knife to cut very shallow cuts, about 1/4″ deep, in a desired design. Finally, sprinkle remaining rosemary on top. Once the oven reaches 450, remove dutch oven from oven. Place parchment paper and bread in dutch oven. Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes, or until top of bread is golden brown. Use remaining browned butter to brush over slices before serving.

Notes

  • Directions are for active dry yeast and NOT rapid rise yeast. This will work with rapid rise yeast, but you will need to watch it as it’s rising, and skip the second punch down and rise (simply transfer it to the oven to bake).

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 350mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1.4mg