This Easy Rustic Olive Bread recipe uses salty kalamata olives to add a depth of flavor to this rustic bread recipe!
The wonderful people over at Bob’s Red Mill were kind enough to sponsor this Easy Rustic Olive Bread recipe. I love supporting local companies!
What is there to say about bread? I find homemade bread to be wonderfully luxuriant, which is funny because it is such a simple thing to make, and a humble staple in our diet.
Looking at olive bread recipes? Here is a great one that you will enjoy sharing with others! I adore this kalamata olive bread recipe and can’t wait to bake a fresh loaf for our friends and family on Easter.
Want to know how to make olive bread that is delicious? Well, okay, then. Just as good bread makes a meal, good flour is what makes the bread! I love baking with Bob’s Red Mill products, and for this recipe I used their Organic All-Purpose Flour.
I love that I can always achieve the perfect texture using this flour – consistency is key!!
I spent some time perfecting this olive loaf recipe for you, which meant that I had several loaves of this bread to eat my way through over the past few days.
If, for some reason, you have extra bread to use up, I highly recommend warming the bread and smothering it with butter, toasting it and smearing it with cream cheese, or turning it into croutons for an easy panzanella (bread salad).
I like to store my olive loaf bread by placing it on a small cutting board, then wrapping the bread and the board loosely in a large flour sack towel. This keeps the bread from drying out while still allowing enough air to pass through to prevent the bread from molding. Use this link to order these white flour sack dish towels from Amazon.
How to Make Olive Bread
Here are all the steps to make this easy, homemade olive bread recipe. 
Combine the first six ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a spatula to roughly combine the ingredients. Let rest for 15 minutes to activate the yeast. 
Fold in the olives. 
Attach the dough hook and knead on medium for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in a bit more flour as needed if the dough won’t release from the sides of the bowl. 
Transfer the kneaded dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 60 minutes in a warm place.
After the first rise, you can see a larger dough ball below. 
Punch the dough down. 
Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use your hands to shape it into a loaf. This can be a round loaf as shown here or a more oblong loaf as shown in the photo at the top of this post.
Allow to rise for another 60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place a second baking sheet on the bottom rack. Dust the loaf with flour. 
Use a serrated knife to make three shallow cuts across the top.
Place the baking sheet containing the dough on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Toss a half cup of water onto the hot baking sheet on the bottom rack and close the door. 
Bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
See, this is an easy olive bread recipe!
Look at that delicious texture!
This kalamata bread is great to dip into olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Yummy! You can also enjoy this olive bread loaf with butter or cream cheese.
More ideas with Bob’s Red Mill products:
- Homemade tortillas made with Masa Harina
- Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole with Bulgur (instead of meat!)
- Herb & Honey Loaf with Artisan Bread Flour
Easy Rustic Olive Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup pitted - chopped Kalamata olives
Instructions
- Combine the first six ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a spatula to roughly combine the ingredients. Let rest for 15 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Fold in the olives. Attach the dough hook and knead on medium for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in a bit more flour as needed if the dough won't release from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the kneaded dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 60 minutes in a warm place.
- Punch the dough down, then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use your hands to shape it into a loaf. Allow to rise for another 60 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place a second baking sheet on the bottom rack. Dust the loaf with flour and use a serrated knife to make three shallow cuts across the top.
- Place the baking sheet containing the dough on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Toss a half cup of water onto the hot baking sheet on the bottom rack and close the door. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
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I wasn’t sure I should rate it because I did not follow the recipe as written. I don’t own a food processor so I mixed the ingredients with a wooden spoon in a large bowl and also kneaded it by hand. It came out great. My only addition was that I added about a 1/2 tsp of dried rosemary which goes great with the kalamata olives. I recommend squeezing a bit of the moisture from the olives before folding them in. I also did a poke test at 45 minutes to make sure the dough was not overproofed. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Hi Esperanza, yes, thank you for the rating and for sharing your changes, they sound delicious!
My favourite bread in the world! When I was younger, we always got an olive and garlic loaf from the shop but they stopped making it 🙁 years later I found this recipe and it is just like what I loved before but better! My only note is that I add the olives in within the last two minutes of kneading and I knead it by hand because the dough hook is very rough (first time I made this the olives basically disintegrated and made a grey purple dough) and smashes up the olives a lot. It’s also important to make sure they’re as dry as possible otherwise it can be difficult for them to stay in the dough. Great recipe!
Hi Tash, thanks for the 5 star review and for sharing your tips!
I love rustic bread and rustic olive bread is even better! This was a great recipe and will definitely be making it again and again….
God I wish this included UK measurements
I used this recipe and my olive bead turned out great! Thank you
Easy to make. Haven’t tasted it yet. Still cooling. But when I cut the slits the dough deflated and it didn’t rise much in the oven.
Great recipe, now a regular weekend bake….will have to start making 2 at a time as its devoured in no time. Great with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dip.
I used one cup of whole wheat flour, and 1.75 cups regular flour, plus a little bit extra olives, baked per recipe, and it is excellent!! We’ve been unable to find olive loaves since moving to Florida, so my husband and I are so happy that I found this recipe! Thank you!!
Pictures of your Olive Bread don’t quite look like it was made with all purpose flour. The color resembles whole wheat flour to me. Did you use wheat? Or are these pictures from a different loaf? Just wondering… and if not then would whole wheat flour work?
Hi Julius, we did you all purpose flour, but you can use whole wheat flour if you prefer it. – Linda
Very delicious loaf, I love Kalamata olives! I will say I did have to bake mine for about 35-40 min instead of 30. After the initial 30 I noticed when I flipped my loaf over the bottom was quite soft. Usually I look for a hard bottom that sounds hollow when you tap it when I bake my bread. So I popped it in for about 5 – 7 min longer with no water for steaming and it did the trick. Leaving this comment in case anyone else found this as an issue.
Hi Kendra, thanks for sharing your review and your adjustments! – Linda
Thanks for the recipe, but please give metric measurements for the vast majority of people who aren’t in the US.
I made this bread with regular yeast and it turned out doughy and undercooked in the middle. Presently putting it back in for longer. Wondering if others have had this experience and if baking longer is the solution to doughy, undercooked bread?