Last October, Rhonda Bolner brought these rolls to that months meeting of the Columbus Herb Society held in the lovely country home of Sara Epler. Rhonda shared the recipe with everyone. It took M.E. two months to get around to making these delectable rolls. In fact, it was at the very tail end of 2007! I had grave doubts about the combination of rosemary and raisins together. Now, dont get M.E. wrong. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs along with French thyme and basil and then there is also parsley and chives and cilantro and I digress. I had no fresh rosemary leaves but using one third of the called for fresh with Penzys dried and crushing the dried herb in my little handy dandy mortar and pestle, I feel I got pretty much the same taste result. It really was a fun bread to make. I can see all kinds of variations with it too and I bet you can as well. So do try making this savory bread from the Mediterranean region of the world.

1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 C. flour plus extra for kneading and shaping
1/4 C. olive oil plus extra for oiling baking sheet
1 T. fresh whole rosemary leaves or 1 t. dried and crushed in mortar and pestle
1/2 t. fine kosher salt or sea salt
1/3 C. seedless raisins, soaked in hot water
10 to 15 ice cubes
Dissolve yeast in 1/4 C. warm water in medium bowl & stir til creamy. Add 1 C. of flour & mix briefly to make a rough dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap & let rise for about 1 hour til well puffed up. This will be the sponge or biga.
Put raisins to soaking.
Put oil & rosemary in small frying pan over medium heat. Keep on heat til aroma of rosemary rises. Set aside & let cool.
Combine rest of flour & salt in large bowl & make a well in the center. Add the sponge to the well. Add the rosemary & oil & gradually add 1/2 C.warm water, bringing in the flour as you go. Knead briefly to make a rough ball of dough.
Remove dough to a floured work surface & knead for about 3 minutes. Invert bowl over dough & let rest for 15 minutes. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes more until dough is smooth & elastic. Flatten dough into large rectangle. Drain the raisins and spread them over the dough. Fold one long third of rectangle over raisins; fold opposite to form a long envelope. Press down on dough to embed raisins in it. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball & flatten lightly.
Transfer small breads to nonstick baking sheet. Leave two inches to allow for expansion. Cover with a lightly wet kitchen towel & let rise for an hour til doubled. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400. Place a medium baking dish on bottom rack of oven.
Immediately before baking, toss ice cubes into the baking dish to create steam. Uncover breads & bake for 20 minutes til golden brown. Cool on wire rack.