Olive Bread

  
      My sister has this odd thing for olives and bread. Not olive bread but an actual olive on top of bread eaten simultaneously. It wasn't until we went to New York recently that she realized that there was such a thing as olives in bread. We must have had it like 10 times in the bread baskets at various restaurants and to my sister, who is easily pleased, it was a revelation. I like it well enough but if given the choice, I'd rather stick to my good ole baguette. Plain and simple. and delicious.

      Oddly, I was feeling charitable on Sunday, so I decided to indulge Becky and make her homemade olive bread. I am by no means an expert at making bread, so this was a new adventure. I was originally planning to make it from a recipe from Panera Bread's website, but then right as I was making the starter, I realized that I probably didn't have enough honey. So, I looked in the cupboard and saw, a tiny little bottle of honey. It was, just my luck, crystalized, so I put it in the microwave for a few seconds. I opened the microwave door only to find that it had spread all over. Great. Wonderful. Awesome.

      So, Plan B. I found another recipe that used basically the same things minus the honey and the shortening, which I found out later we didn't have anyway. It was supposed to make two loaves which turned out too small, so I made one night loaf. It was oddly hard to knead so I didn't do it for as long as recommended but it turned out alright. Becky enjoyed it anyway.

Starter: 

• 1 cup warm water (95-105° F)
• 1 tablespoon  yeast
• 1 cup flour

Let set at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bread:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive brine, warmed
• 4 teaspoons yeast
• 4 – 5 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt
•  Starter
•  3/4 cups  kalamata olives, pitted

To create the starter,combine the water and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour to the bowl and stir.  Cover with a cloth and ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 minutes.
For the dough, combine the water and yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the  flour, salt,  brine, starter, and olives. Mix on low speed (if using a mixer) until the dough is fully developed.  Knead for 15 minutes if kneading by hand. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl.

You can let the dough rise for an hour or so to develop the flavor or go on to the next step.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces  Roll each piece of dough into a boule, or a baguette. Place the dough on the counter and cover with a warm, damp cloth. Let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

Form the dough into loaves and place them on the counter. Cover the loaves with a warm, damp cloth and proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Score the loaves with a sharp knife, spray with water, and bake for 30 minutes, until the crusts are a deep golden brown. Just as you put the loaves in the oven pour about 1.4 cup of water on the floor of the oven to create steam.  Keep door closed.

Remove the bread from the oven and cool for at least 30 minutes, or as long as you can wait.

2 Loaves

(c)2008  Marye Audet for Baking Delights