Olive Bread
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A fabulous homemade olive bread studded with black olives, flecked with fragrant toasty fennel seeds and woodsy rosemary. A no knead bread recipe brimming with savory flavor and a dreamy crusty crust that makes the most elite sandwiches. (+Video tutorial)
Olive Bread
Really easy to make with just a little patience even for a first time baker, you won’t believe this olive bread loaf didn’t come out of an Italian bakery.
A mix of all purpose and whole grain flour results in the perfect hearty yet airy crumb with just the right amount of chew that holds up beautifully to all the olives and spices. It’s the kind of rustic bread you’d expect to get at a small but exquisite Italian restaurant alongside a small bowl of fine olive oil for dipping. It also makes a fantastic sandwich bread topped with slices of juicy heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. I love it slathered with a thick layer of our roasted vegetable spread for breakfast or lunch.
About the Olives
I love using plump black Kalamata olives here that have been pitted and patted dry to absorb and extra brine. At this point I prefer to slice them into thick slices but you can give them a rough chop for a more rustic look once you slice into the loaf. I fancy the way they decorate a loaf of bread with their purple hew coming through and making it look artisan and nostalgic. Another great option would be green Castelvetrano Sicilian olives aka “Nocellara del Belice” – those are also plump with a meaty texture and buttery flavor.
The Method
Instead of kneading I used the pull and fold method just like I do for my crusty spelt homemade bread. Two rises give the dough plenty of time to develop flavor and for the gluten strands to bounce back beautifully before baking. Do your best not to break them during the pulling process, you should get a feel for their elasticity after a couple of pull and tucks.
Ingredient Notes + Tips
- Fennel + Rosemary – I used both of these herbs here as a flavor enhancer that compliments the olives without overpowering them. I wanted this bread to tastes like a bite of Italy and it absolutely does.
- Instant Yeast – It has never failed me so it’s all I use in my pizza and bread baking now.
- Flour – A perfect mix of all purpose and whole wheat flour will yield a beautifully crusty rustic loaf that holds up great to the olives while still airy but hearty. You can use bread flour if you like but it’s not necessary unless you prefer a chewier crumb.
- Why do we score the dough? – This is a very important step just before baking the bread. The slits will basically show the loaf which way to rise, if this step is omitted the dough is going to burst at its weakest point and expand that way resulting in an irregular shape.
- Cooling the bread – Place the loaf on its side on a cooling rack until fully cooled. This will allow the steam to escape and yield a heavenly crackly crusty crust!
Olive Oil Bread Dip for Serving
Start with the best cold pressed extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on. Add a pinch of red chili flakes, some chopped flat leaf Italian parsley, freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of sea salt flakes. You won’t need much else since this bread packs so much beautiful flavor.
Serving Ideas
- Top with Juicy Heirloom Tomatoes
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
- White Bean Dip
- Zuppa Toscana
- Pomodoro Sauce
- Escarole Soup
- Roasted Tomato Soup
On Storage
For the first day I just keep my loaf at room temperature on the cutting board. Any leftovers can be stored in a bread box or wrapped in wax wrap on the counter for 3 days. For longer storage you can slice the loaf and freeze in freezer proof bags. It can go straight from freezer to the toaster oven or thawed out on the counter.
Bread Recipes
- Rustic Italian Crusty Bread
- Exquisite Homemade Spelt Bread
- Potato Bread
- Italian Focaccia Bread
- No Knead Potato Focaccia
- Italian Biscuits.
how to make homemade olive bread
Olive Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup Kalamata olives (pitted + sliced or chopped)
- 2.75 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used whole spelt flour)
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 Tbsp fennel seeds toasted
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary roughly chopped
Instructions
- Pat dry the olives with a paper towel and remove as much moisture as possible. Slice or chop them and set aside until needed.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast, fennel and rosemary.2.75 cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp instant yeast, 1 Tbsp fennel seeds, 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- Add the olives.1 cup Kalamata olives
- Mix the water, vinegar and salt and pour it over the flour and olives. Use a spatula and mix everything until combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a clean tea towel and let it sit in a draft free area for 3 hours.1.5 cups warm water, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tsp fine sea salt
- After 3 hours have passed uncover the dough. Flour your hand well and start reaching to the bottom of the bowl grabbing the dough stretching it and folding onto itself towards the center spinning the bowl around as you go. Go around the bowl a couple of times just stretching and folding the dough onto itself taking care not to break the gluten strands. (If the dough feels too sticky to you just sprinkle some flour around the sides of the bowl to make the "stretch + fold" process easier to handle)
- Cover the bowl again and set aside to rise another 3 hours.
- Have a large shallow bowl on stand by. Prepare a large piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with flour.
- Uncover the dough and sprinkle some flour along the sides of the bowl. Tilt the bowl on its side and carefully guide the dough onto the floured parchment paper using your floured hand to help guide it out. (It’s going to look like a shaggy blob at this point and that’s OK). WATCH VIDEO!
- SHAPE - Flour your hands well and stretch + fold the dough onto itself from bottom to the top to form a round loaf. Take care not to break the gluten strands and do not knead. Form a tight loaf.
- Flip the loaf so that the top seam ends up on the bottom (you can use a dough scraper here if you feel it helps you with the flipping). Tuck the sides underneath as best you can to create a tight loaf.
- Using the parchment paper as handles transfer the loaf to the shallow bowl, this will prevent the dough from spilling outwards as the gluten bounces back.
- Preheat your oven to 500” F with either a pizza stone or large cast iron skillet on the bottom third rack. Preheat for 45 minutes as this will ensure an evenly hot stone area and give plenty of time for the gluten in the bread loaf to spring back avoiding a dense loaf.
- At this point If you feel it necessary you can give your loaf a final shape by tucking the sides underneath to create a tighter loaf with just a little tension. This is only necessary if your loaf looks too loose, you want to see a little tension to prevent the dough from spreading sideways during baking.
- Using a sharp knife or dough blade carve an X in the top of the loaf. Grab the parchment paper handles and transfer the bread to the hot oven. (For an extra crispy crust you can splash a little water over the top of loaf to create steam).
- Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes until a nice dark crust is formed.
- Using oven mitts transfer the bread to a cooling rack and rest it on its side for the steam to escape and the bread to stay crusty. (Prop the side with a can of tomatoes or a bowl if needed).
Video
Notes
- Flour - A perfect mix of all purpose and whole wheat flour will yield a beautifully crusty rustic loaf that holds up great to the olives while still airy but hearty. You can use bread flour if you like but it's not necessary unless you prefer a chewier crumb.
- Why do we score the dough? - This is a very important step just before baking the bread. The slits will basically show the loaf which way to rise, if this step is omitted the dough is going to burst at its weakest point and expand that way.
I can’t believe I actually made this bread with my own hands. It’s absolutely fantastic and the malt delicious bread I have ever eaten, the fennel, the olives everything is perfection! I’m not and experienced baker and this recipe was easy to follow even for myself and a success! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️