Chop raw bacon into smallish bits and cook in a skillet on the stove-top until the bacon is crispy. Remove cooked bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
Drain the soaking water from the beans and pour the beans into a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker.
Add the the chicken broth, onion, carrots, garlic, thyme, rosemary and pepper to the slow cooker.
Add additional water as needed to cover the beans by about 1 inch.
Add half of the cooked bacon to the slow cooker, setting the remaining cooked bacon aside in the refrigerator to add later.
Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours or on HIGH for 6 to 8 hours or until the beans are cooked through.
Right before serving add the rest of the cooked bacon into the slow cooker and season to taste with additional salt if needed.
Notes
* Bacon - When you add cooked crispy bacon to a soup and cook it for hours the bacon will become soft and no longer crisp. However the bacon adds wonderful flavor to the soup. So if you want a bit of crispy bacon reserve half of your cooked bacon and add it to the soup right before serving. If you don't care if the bacon is crisp in your soup go ahead and add it all and just cook it. ** Beans - This recipe calls for dried beans that have been soaked. If you have the time you can sort and rinse your beans and soak them in a bowl of hot water overnight. Or you can quick soak your beans by sorting and rinsing the beans, and adding them to a big pot of boiling water. Turn off the heat, cover and let the beans sit in the hot water until the water is room temperature. Drain the soaking water off the beans before cooking. Nutritional information based on using center cut bacon which is lower in fat and 10 servings.