Salty olives 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.
My friend Sandra dedicates special time to bread-baking every week, when she rolls up her sleeves and engages in some therapeutic kneading. I’m a little lazier than she is, so I like to use my trusty stand mixer.
However you go about baking your bread, the important thing is to share it 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 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. See the link below if you need to order one.
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
Iād love for you to keep in touch! You can enter your email address right here to get new recipes sent to you once per week. Join me on Facebook and Pinterest!!
Here’s the Recipe!
Easy Rustic Olive Bread
Salty olives 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
Last Updated on
Comments
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
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
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?” š
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 š
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 š
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 š
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. š
Thanks, Maureen! I looooove this bread. I think I’ll go make another loaf while I’m thinking about it š
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