Olive Bread

It seems like lately everyone has gone crazy for salted caramel.  We're on a salty kick here, too.  Salty bread, that is.  That probably sounds weird, but it's so good.  And really when you think of it, certainly no weirder than a salty sweet.   

I'm not sure why I got it in my head that we should make a bread with olives--I'd never seen one, or eaten one--and didn't know such a thing existed.  God bless Google and Pinterest, many others have also had this epiphany and have developed great recipes so I didn't have to flounder.  This one comes by way of the Chef MiMi Blog, but I'm also going to get around to this one and this one.  

While this recipe isn't hard, it does take a big commitment of time because it calls for several different rises.  Maybe you could cut corners, but since I'm a rule follower, so far I've just stuck with the script.

First thing you wait for--the yeast to proof.  That takes about ten minutes.

Then the liquids combine with a bit of flour, and you wait for it to rise the first time--about 45 minutes.

More flour gets added, and you wait for the dough to rise again--another 45 or more minutes.

 

Then go in the chopped olives (I like kalamata), and finally you can work and shape the dough.  The dough is pretty wet, and it takes a while to knead a bit more flour into it to get rid of some of the stickiness. 

  Then, of course, bake time.  Only 30 minutes, though.

Chef Mimi instructs that the bread should cool for at least an hour, but that's where my patience ends.  I let it cool about 15 minutes, and then I start slicing.  It's soooooo good!  Definitely salty from the olives.  It goes perfectly with salads, grilled meat, and pasta.  Or in the middle of the day, all by itself.  

I challenge you to make this bread, and some salted caramel, and see which one you have a harder time resisting!

 

Olive Bread

by way of Chef Mimi's Blog

1/2 cup warm/hot water (she suggests 115 degrees)
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
3 T olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
2.5 cups flour, divided (I used unbleached all-purpose)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup chopped olives (I love kalamata)

Sprinkle the yeast, then the sugar, over the half-cup of warm/hot water and let sit for a few minutes.  Then whisk the mixture, and wait for it to almost double in size.  Once it has doubled, combine the yeast mixture with the milk, olive oil, oregano, and one cup of all-purpose flour.  Cover the dish and place it somewhere warm until it has doubled in size--about 45 minutes.  Since it's summer here, I like to put my dough inside my vehicle in our garage (where the dogs and cats can't get it).  It's really warm in there, and doesn't take up my oven space.

After that first rise, mix in a cup of the whole wheat flour.  Cover and allow the dough to rise again, another 45-60 minutes until it has almost doubled.  When that's done, preheat your oven to 400.  Add the roughly chopped olives to the dough and the final cup of all-purpose flour.  I sprinkle a half-cup of additional flour on my countertop and scrape the dough out of the bowl to knead that last addition of flour and olives.  It's super sticky, so be warned.  Once the flour is incorporated and the dough loses some of its stickiness, shape into a rough circle on a pan.  

Bake the bread for about 30 minutes.  Chef Mimi recommends you wait for an hour after the bread has finished baking to allow it to cool before you slice it.  In the multiple times I've made this olive bread, I've not managed that hour wait.  But see if you have more willpower than me.  When you're ready, slice the bread in quarters, and slice each wedge into pieces for serving.  Enjoy!