Olive bread. Manna from heaven.
If I had a nickel for every time I've accidentally polished off an entire olive loaf in one sitting, I'd be a rich woman.
What's not to like?! Olives? Good. Carbs? Good.
I thought bread was going to be super hard to make and/or it would be an all day affair, waiting for it to rise and whatnot.
But this bread is suuuuper easy, and you can be stuffing your face with warm fresh bread in less than an hour and a half. Just enough time for you to stage some sort of fake emergency that gets everyone out of your house so you can be alone to eat the entire loaf in peace.
Plus you get the added bonus of your house smelling like a bakery for the rest of the evening. Yes, please.
2 cups (250g) of bread flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of dry yeast
2/3 cups (150 ml) of warm water
1 tablespoon of olive oil (plus a bit more for greasing)
Olives (I used plain black and green and I also threw in some kalamata which had been packaged in oil and italian herbs. I used 6 whole of each, and then chopped up 4 of each to have some smaller pieces in the bread as well. I like a high olive to bread ratio, so use less if you'd rather!)
Mix flour, salt, sugar, and yeast together in a medium bowl.
Chop and/or add whole olives (whichever you prefer) to the dry mixture and mix well.
Make a well and pour in the water and oil.
Mix with a fork until it is sticky, then knead the dough for 5 mins on a floured surface. If you added barrels of olives like I did, it will be weird at first when you're trying to knead because the olives will sneak out. Stick with it, soldier. They will stick into the bread more as you knead.
When the dough is elastic and smooth, place into a lightly greased bowl and cover with a tea towel.
Let sit for 45 mins - 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 210 degrees celsius.
Once it's risen, form onto a greased, floured baking sheet and lightly grease the top of the loaf.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bread is evenly golden brown all around, and is hardened on the top. Better to overbake a bit than underbake on this one.
Let cool, slice, and eat entire loaf in one sitting without shame.
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