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
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Here’s the Recipe!
Easy Rustic Olive Bread
This Easy Rustic Olive Bread recipe uses salty kalamata olives to add a depth of flavor to this rustic 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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Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 150Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 149mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 4g
Nutrition information has been auto-calculated for your convenience.
Comments
Hi Linda,
I have never made bread before. Made your olive bread and it was to my taste buds, wonderful. Shared it with my girls, and they are well travelled and critical. All three claimed it was the best they had tasted. It is now my go to bread for family get togethers.
Thank you for your wonderful recipe.
Hi Anthony,
I’m glad you made bread for the first time and loved this recipe! Thank you for sharing your experience!
– Linda
Why do you put salt with the yeast? it kills it.
Hi Anita,
It is a good question and one that many are concerned about. However, with the small amount of salt in this recipe, it only slows the rise of the dough. Here is an interesting article that discusses this topic in more detail: https://www.foodtoimpress.com/bread/does-salt-kill-yeast/
– Linda
Hi Linda
Made this recipe yesterday and it turned out so well. The first rise took a lot longer than expected. Its like the yeast didn’t wake up straight away, even though I tested it and it is still active. Anyway the end result was very good and I will be using this recipe again in the future.
Thanks
Hi Nathalie,
Yes, it is so good. Glad you loved it too!
– Linda
This bread is sooooo delicious and I love making it! If I split this dough in half to make 2 smaller loaves how long should I bake it for?
Hi Angie,
I’m not sure on this question, but I did find this online that might help you: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/41845/changing-single-loaf-bread-into-two-smaller
If you give it a try, let us know how it worked out.
– Linda
Hi,
Should I refrigerate the dough after second rise if I want to bake it in the morning?
Hi Sher,
You can refrigerate before the second rise. So, make the dough through the first rise, then punch it down and put it in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. When you are ready to use, shape the dough as desired and leave to rise until it doubles in size. Refrigerated dough may need more time to rise, so allow about 2 hours.
-Linda
Thank you very much for sharing recipe. Since making this first time 2 months ago, I have made this almost every other weekend and recipe never fails.
I just made this for the first time. I used the water method you mentioned, placing the water on a cookie sheet under the rack of the bread that is cooking. I followed the recipe exactly. I did have to let it cook a little longer because although the outside was crusty the inside didn’t feel done. No matter how long I cooked it though, the outside was completely white. The crust never got golden. Do you know what could have caused this or was I supposed to brush something over the crust? I mean the bread still tastes good but would look a lot nicer if it had some color to it.
Do you advise against using any form of egg wash for this recipe? I’m tempted to use one so the bread gets nicely browned but I dont want to be presumptuous and assume it won’t brown OK without a light egg wash.
Made two loaves two days in a row. I made one yesterday for my parents and delivered it to them the same day. I got a text a couple of hours later telling me they ate 3/4 of it already so I made one for me today! It’s super easy to make and hella yummy in my tummy. This will now be my go to olive bread recipe! Thank you for sharing!!
Cat,
It is hella yummy! Glad you and your parents love it!
– Linda
Made this bread yesterday, at the shaping stage I created a tout surface, but during the second rise the bread surface split and it deflated the loaf and it went pretty wide & flat. Still tasted nice though. How do you shape the bread, any idea what could have gone wrong?
Hi Ellen,
I’m not sure what went wrong, but here is a video that might help you tighten up the dough with this technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww78_SfGyQE
– Linda
I’ve tried this for the first time with a tbsp of honey as I read from the comments. It came out perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe. I wonder if I can use the base of this recipe and add roasted garlic cloves instead of olives to make “rustic garlic bread” 🙂 Have you ever tried that? Thoughts?
Hi Anne,
I haven’t tried the garlic cloves, but it sounds delicious. Give it a try and let us know how you like it.
– Linda
I made this recipe last night and it was absolutely perfect. I would love to make this as a loaf in a bread pan tobise as sandwich bread. Any suggestions on pan size and bake time? Thank you for sharing such an easy, delicious recipe.
Hi Sherri,
You can make this in a loaf pan, but I’m not sure the size and bake time, but this link might help: https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-form-a-loaf-427573
If you give it a try, please come back here and let us know how it went and how you did it.
– Linda
I’m trying this today for the first time!? do you think I could add agave nectar or honey as a small sweetness or would it take away from the olives? Also. If so, when would I add?
Hi Donna,
Yes, you can add honey, I suggest adding 1 tablespoon and you can do it in step 1 when you combine all the ingredients, except the olives.
– Linda
I’m going to try this today and plan on using a bread pan. I can’t tell from this recipe if you used a bread pan. Did you? Thanks for the recipe, I’m excited to try it with my new stand mixer!
Also, do you do the second rise on the counter or in a covered bowl again? Thank you!
Hi Lisa,
No need for a bread pan. How did you like it?
-Linda
And if you don’t have a mixer with a dough hook, how long would you hand knead it?
Hi Nita,
Hand kneading takes longer, but difficult to say how long. The good news is that you likely won’t over knead the dough by hand. Check out this article for some help to know when you are done: https://www.thekitchn.com/bread-baking-clinic-under-knea-157484
– Linda
Wow! I made this as someone who has been intimidated by baking bread at home and it was so easy and delicious! I’ve made it twice now and did find that the olives broke down quite a bit so on the second time around, after the 5 minutes of kneading I added an extra small handful of olives cut in thirds and kneaded for about 30 seconds. I am an olive fiend! Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe I’ll be keeping it in my favourites.
Hi Megan,
I’m glad you loved it!
– Linda
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe I absolutely loved it.Your instructions were perfect. I didn’t have instant yeast so I used active dry instead. I definitely will be making this again and again!
Thank you Dawn, glad you loved it.
– Linda
I want to try this but I’m concerned just mixing the first 6 ingredients doesn’t the salt kill the yeast? Every time I’ve made a yeast bread it never rises unless I do the yeast and warm water first then add it to everything else after 15 minutes
Hi Michele,
I have never had an issue, but you can do your way to be safe.
– Linda
So it turns out my yeast is “Active Dry” I Googled how to handle the difference and it mostly came out great! Next question is the 2nd rising. I re-covered and put back in the oven with the hot water underneath, it spread more sideways and was a very long thin/flat loaf. You think next time after forming the loaf shape rise it uncovered on the counter? It was delicious and we will definitely make again!
Hi Michele,
Yes, let it rise a second time on the counter uncovered before baking.
– Linda
How much sourdough starter can i use in this receipe..ill have to scratch the yeast and should i scratch 1/2 the water..tx
Hi Jeanie,
You can find the right conversion here: https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/convert-recipes-to-sourdough-aw043/
– Linda
I’ve made this bread once a week the last 3 weeks with different type of olives; great every time!
This last time I prepared the dough, I let it rise and put it in the fridge for 2 days before popping it in the oven for 30 minutes right before brunch. It still worked out great!
Glad you like it and thanks for the fridge tip!
– Linda
Hi,
Can I use wheat flour? Will it be the same amount?
Thanks!
Hi Sher,
You might be able to if you can figure out the right adjustments. See this article for more info: https://www.abreaducation.com/content/baking-bread-with-whole-wheat-flour
If you try it, let us know how it works out.
– Linda
This is my first time making bread that requires yeast and the it came out perfect. Very easy to make and very delicious. Much better than bakery bread. Thanks for the recipe.
I drove to two different stores today looking to buy olive bread and when they had none, I thought, what the heck I’ll go home and try to make it. I searched and came across this recipe and it turned out fantastic. I followed the recipe 100%. I will definitely be making this again and again. I impressed myself and my wife who said “you, you made that?” 🙂
SO GOOD! Such an easy recipe and it came out GORGEOUS.
I used a food processor to mix it for me and that worked out well. The whole bread was gone within 20 minutes.
This bread is amazing!
My dough collapsed on second rise and am baking it now in a panic. Why did it do that? I know zero about baking bread.
Slice it BEFORE the second rise right after shaping it. If you slice risen dough it deflates..like popping a balloon!
I’ve never had this happen, but it sounds like good advice! I’ll try it next time I make a loaf 🙂
I don’t understand,in the recipe instructions, you say to slice right after you dust with flour, which is after the second rise.How come you now say to slice before the second rise right after shaping it.Am I missing something!
Hi Lapuce,
The recipe says to make the 3 shallow cuts after the second rise. That works for me. Angie suggested to do these 3 cuts before the second rise so the loaf doesn’t pop. Try whichever method you like best and let us know how it turns out.
– Linda
I made this today and it was fantastic! AND SO EASY!!!
Thank you!
Do I need to activate year in a glass before adding?
I ate this yesterday and it came out well. I am making it again and am going to use this as a basic rustic bread recipe for things like Rosemary bread, Italian,etc. However the dough was very wet and I had to add allot of extra flour. It seems that 1 cup of water seemed to be too much. Have you had issues with this and used less water?
Hi John –
Sounds like a measuring conundrum. So difficult when we use cups instead of weight! I’ll re-make this recipe soon and take weights to make sure the proportions are just right. The dough shouldn’t be wet, you were right to add more flour 🙂
Have you taken the weight on the four yet? I find that using weights is always more accurate. Thanks.
Hi Susan,
I’m sorry, but I haven’t done that yet.
– Linda
Would you recommend freezing or refrigerating the dough? I will be baking this to give as a gift, and I’d like to prepare the dough beforehand and bake the day of or day before, but am not sure if it would last in the refrigerator, or if it will be okay if thawing after freezing.
Thanks so much!
I always prefer refrigeration – just make sure to cover it in plastic wrap and punch it down every so often.
Helpful! Do you recommend refrigerating after the first rise or before?
When baking, do you set your oven to convection?
How do you know when it’s done. Seems like the outside got hard very quickly, but was still soft inside.
Hi, Sylvia –
When baking bread, often the outside crust gets hard very quickly (especially if you use the water-steam method I recommend). My bread is done in 30 minutes, but if you’re worried you can let it go another 5-10 minutes. Dark crust is delicious, so don’t be afraid to let it keep baking!
so you prefer AP to bread flour for this?
I like to use Bob’s Red Mill’s All-Purpose Flour because I always have it on hand! I’ve used their bread flour, too, which I also love. I like to write bread recipes which use APF, because I always hear from my friends and family that they want to try making bread but only have APF at home 🙂
When you say you used bread flour, too, did you mean in general when you baked bread or for this particular recipe?
This bread is beautiful and I would love to reach in and grab that end piece. 🙂
Thanks, Maureen! I looooove this bread. I think I’ll go make another loaf while I’m thinking about it 😉
Hi,
Can I use a Dutch oven?
Hi Sher,
I have not done that, so not sure how it would turn out, but here is a resource that might help you: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/how-to-bake-bread-in-a-dutch-oven/
If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out.
– Linda