Slow Cooker Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

I had this recipe on my Pinterest for a long time. I love using the slow cooker, but I'm not big on making homemade bread. When making an effortless menu for our dinner party with my parents and brother, this bread seemed like it would be perfect alongside the Roasted Vegetable Manicotti I was planning on preparing.

Recipe from Host the Toast.

Ingredients:
-3½ cups all purpose flour
-1 packet dry active yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
-1¼ cups warm water
-¼ cup fresh rosemary, chopped, divided
-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
-1 teaspoon sugar
-1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt, divided

You will also need:
-Parchment paper

I find working with yeast to be intimidating --if you're a first time user, know that the water needs to be warm, not hot. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If the water is too cold the yeast will not activate. I test the water on the inside of my wrist as if testing a baby bottle to determine if it's too hot or too cold.

In a large bowl, mix together the water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit ten minutes. The mixture should become bubbly.

After ten minutes, stir in half of the salt (1/2 teaspoon), half of the rosemary (2 tablespoons), the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and all of the flour. Mix until fully combined. Work it together with your hands, if necessary. Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl (it will rise). Cover it with a kitchen towel and leave the dough in a warm, draft-free area. Let it sit and rise for one hour.

After one hour, remove the dough from the bowl and gently roll it into a ball on a floured surface. Let the dough sit for another 20 minutes.

Set your slow cooker to high. Line the inside with two pieces of parchment paper, leaving at least 2 inches hanging out of each side of the top of the slow cooker. Place the dough in the crock pot and sprinkle it with the remaining salt and rosemary.

Drape paper towels over the top of the crock pot and then place the lid on. This is to capture any moisture that would sit on the lid and prevent it from dripping back onto your bread.

Cook the bread for 2 hours, and remove from the crock pot.

It will most likely still be a bit pale on the outside. I left mine alone, but you can broil it for three to five minutes to get a darker crust.

This turned out wonderfully. I was so happy with the results, it complemented the Roasted Vegetable Manicotti perfectly. The rosemary flavor was apparent throughout, but not too overpowering. Our only problem was that it was lacking salt a little (likely I improperly measured), we sprinkled a little salt over each piece to solve that problem. I will be making this again.