Delicious Italian Olive Bread ~

Good morning! I'm going to give you two ways to make this recipe for olive bread in case you don't like the whole wheat aspect of the one for yesterday. There is a second recipe which will add olives and cheese for a little different kind of bread with your meal. I made a loaf of (green) olive bread yesterday and had it with some lentil soup for supper. It was all very tasty! I took pictures so you could see it. The texture is very nice and soft while the olives simply add a nice touch of taste. I can't wait to taste some of this bread toasted for breakfast with eggs or for lunch with cheese. I hope you'll see if you like this change of taste.

But the pictures don't include the soup I made from Bob's Red Mill Soup Mix, which has green and yellow split peas, barley, lentils and pasta bits. I used chicken broth as my liquid and sauteed some onions and cabbage to add to it, as well as some diced canned tomatoes and the juice of one-half lemon. Yum! I made enough to freeze and eat later after having some for lunch today. It was very easy to make and delicious to eat.
                            

These recipes are out of Olives: More than 70 Delicious & Healthy Recipes by Avner Laskin, who has lived, worked and cooked in the Mediterranean for more than 20 years. So here go the recipes!

Italian Olive Bread
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon dried yeast
3 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup pitted green olives
2 teaspoon salt
flour for dusting

Preparation

1. Place the water, yeast, bread flour, olive oil, and olives in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer with a kneading hook to mix the dough on low speed for 3 minutes.
2. Add the salt while kneading. [Salt added with the other ingredients before adding the flour will stop the yeast from rising.] Increase the mixing speed and continue to knead for 8 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a floured bowl, cover with a towel, and let stand to rise at room temperature for 1 hour, until the dough doubles in size.
4. After the dough has risen, transfer to a floured work surface and form a ball of dough.
5. Place a well-floured kitchen towel in the bottom of a bowl and place the ball of dough in the bowl to rise. Let stand at room temperature until the ball has doubled in size. [I did'nt do the second rise this way. I simply allowed the dough to rise on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as in yesterday's recipe.] This usually takes an hour.
6. While the dough is rising, place a baking or pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. [I couldn't find my pizza stone, so did not do this step.]
7. After the dough has risen, carefully turn it onto a floured work surface and form a load shape with your hands. Use a sharp knife to score a line across the top of the loaf. Then swivel the loaf and score another line perpendicular to the first to form a plus sign. [I didn't swivel my bread.]
8. Transfer the dough to the baking stone and bake for 30 minutes. [I ended up with an oval loaf of bread cooked on a baking sheet lined with parchment.]
9. The bread is ready when tapping on the bottom produces a hollow sound. Store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you wish to store the bread longer, store it in the freezer in a sealed freezer bag for up to 1 week. To reheat, defrost at room temperature and place in a 400 degree F oven for 6 minutes.

Now there is a second recipe which is the same as this one, but which adds olives and cheese at the end. So if you prefer your olives with cheese, do this.

Bread Stuffed with Olives and Cheese

For the filling:

2/3 cup green olives

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Preparation

1. Make the dough in the recipe above.
2. When the dough has risen the first time, transfer to a floured work suface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough 1/2-inch thick.
3. Evenly distribute the olives and cheeses on the dough. Roll the dough into a cylinder with the filling inside. Be careful to fold the corners of the dough inward while rolling to keep the filling inside. 
4. Place the bread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside to rise for 1 hour until the bread has doubled in size. 
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
6. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer to a cooking rack to cool for about 15 minutes before serving. Store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you wish to store the bread longer, store it in the freezer in a sealed freezer bag for up to 1 week. To reheat, defrost at room temperature and place in a 400 degree F oven for 6 minutes. 

Bread that is interesting and flavorful! Try it with spaghetti or soup or add it to your own favorite dish.

Have a great day!

Blessings...Mimi