Rosemary Chocolate Olive Oil Quick Bread
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A rosemary-scented quick bread perfect for wholesome snacking and gift-giving, made with whole grain flour, dark chocolate and olive oil.
This olive oil quick bread is made without yeast and seasoned with fragrant fresh rosemary and chunks of bittersweet chocolate.
It is perfect to make in little loaves to give as gifts, or to snack on when you crave a bite of something not-too-sweet.
I’ve been experimenting with switching out butter for olive oil in baking, which led to Olive Oil and Lemon Ricotta Cake.
The first time I baked this lightly sweet cake (to me it’s actually more of a quick bread than a cake), I threw in some freshly grated lemon zest.
Lemon is a nice partner with the fruity taste of the olive oil and chocolate, but it got a little lost in there.
Baking with rosemary
I also have a special place for rosemary in my cooking, so any time I see an opportunity to highlight its distinctive piney-lemon character I jump in to explore.
Next, I tried adding some ground coriander, a spice that has essential elements of citrus and balsam.
You barely notice it in the background, but I think it naturally unites the slightly unusual pairing of chocolate with rosemary and olive oil.
I couldn’t help gilding the rosemary, so I sprinkled rosemary sugar leftover from my Italian Greyhound cocktails over the tops just before putting them in the oven.
More quick baking treats:
Rosemary Chocolate Olive Oil Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (110 g) spelt flour (or use an equal amount of all purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 cups (215 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 (160 g) cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander or cardamom
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (236 ml) olive oil
- 3/4 (177) cup milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 5 ounces (145 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch or smaller pieces
- Rosemary Sugar – optional
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly coat 4 small loaf pans (5" x 2") or one large ( 9" x 5" x 2.75") loaf pan with olive oil. Place the pans on a baking sheet. If using a single loaf pan, you can skip the baking sheet.
- Put the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and coriander in a large bowl. Use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the olive oil and whisk together. Add the milk and rosemary and mix again just to blend.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, stirring gently to combine. Stir in the chocolate until evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter among the pans and smooth the top. Sprinkle tops evenly with some Rosemary Sugar, about 2 teaspoons each, or regular sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes for small loaves; 55-60 minutes for standard loaf or until the tops are domed and a skewer inserted in the middle of the loaves comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack before slicing either warm or cool.
Notes
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Sorry, but really meh–bland. I’d looked forward to baking this for an herbal bake sale. My rosemary is very resinous, but I couldn’t taste it at all in the recipe. I didn’t have spelt so used unbleached A-P flour (King Arthur) and good olive oil. Instead of all bittersweet chocolate I used a mix of finely chopped bits and cacao nibs because it will be a warm day. The small loaves remained an insipid color even after baking 35 minutes and they really have no flavor profile. I upped the cardamom to 1 tsp and can’t taste that, either. Don’t kmow what to call them when I sell them. Not “rosemary chocolate…”
I’m glad to see your experience was different!
Delicious! I have a lot of rosemary in my garden this year, and I did an internet search to look for a novel way to use it. This bread is fantastic. I haven’t baked with olive oil in the past, and I didn’t know what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised. I will definitely make the bread again. I appreciated the use of spelt flour, as I find it more flavorful than all-purpose. I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate in the house, so I used the dark chocolate that I had on hand. I made the larger loaf, and it was done after 45 minutes. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll be ordering your cookbook.
Thank you Kelly – I’m so happy you enjoyed the bread!
Absolutely loved this recipe.. was so delicious and the house smelled amazing!!
I would gift this bread.. It is now a favorite in my household. Thank you Karen!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Laurie!
Hi, can we use dry rosemary herb? Thanks!
Hi Wei – yes, sure you can. Add about half the amount of the fresh because it will be stronger in flavor.
Thank you!
Made the house smell so delicious! Disappeared in one day the whole family loved it!
and olive oil (name and brand). Kind of new at baking
Hi Jennifer! I like Scharffen Berger chocolate for baking. As for olive oil, use a good extra-virgin that you use every day.
is there a specific chocolate you recommend using?
I just made this, but I healthified it a bit – reduced the oil by 2/3 and replaced it with pumpkin puree (it just gets a tiny hint of pumpkin, rosemary and chocolate are still stronger in taste), made it entirely with whole spelt flour and I made it vegan by using flax eggs. It’s wonderfully moist and delicious!
Thank you so much for the recipe/inspiration.
The bread looks delicious but the 25-30 min cook time doesn’t work at all if you cook this in a single standard loaf pan.
I just made a loaf and let it bake 60 minutes and toothpicks are still coming out wet and covered in batter.
Does the original recipe recommend a different temperature or cook time for a full loaf?
I’ve updated the recipe baking time to include a standard loaf – apologies if you had trouble. The time will increase to 45 – 50 minutes or slightly more depending on your oven calibration.
Sook, thank you. I’m glad you visited. Cheers!
this bread is in my oven baking away right this very minute. AMAZING!!!! i licked the batter and bowl like a little kid. my house smells phenominal!! so glad you posted this recipe. Happy mothers day to me INDEED!
I would never have thought of this as a combination, but it is so intriguing…
This looks so interesting. I love rosemary, and I love chocolate, so I don’t see how I could go wrong here! Beautiful bread and great pictures!
Wow, I never really thought of matching up chocolate and rosemary. Thanks for the inspiration.
Lovely! This bread sounds like a great combination of flavors!