Olive Loaf
Thoughts:
This is another easy bread recipe, and in fact, perhaps the easiest yet on the blog, as it takes no kneading.
That’s right, no kneading.
The resulting olive bread is very soft and airy, and the density of the olives is such that it’s difficult to find a single bite without a bit of olive in it. The classic combination of olives and savory herbs works well in this bread, the rosemary complementing the olives nicely.
A wonderful way of enjoying the bread is dipped in a mixture of olive oil and your favorite combination of salt, black pepper, herbs, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, and anything else you like.
Olive Loaf Recipe
Cook’s note: This recipe makes several quite large loaves. Unless you’re baking for a large family, or the whole staff of the House of Black and White, you can probably safely halve it. :)
Ingredients:
- 6 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tbs yeast
- 1 1/2 tbs kosher salt
- 1 tbs honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 3/4 cup luke warm water
- 1 cup chopped Kalamata olives (pitted)
- 1 sprig chopped rosemary or savory
- 1/4 corn meal
In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup of flour, the yeast, and a cup of water. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Add the salt, honey, oil, other 6 cups flour, and the rest of the water. Mix until the dough starts to come together, then add the olives and rosemary. Continue to mix until there is no more loose flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for around 1 1/2 hours- It will expand a lot, so make sure you have a big bowl!
Dust a large baking sheet, or two baking sheets, with corn meal. Divide the risen, sticky dough into several pieces (I made three hefty loaves), and pull the edges around to the bottom of the loaf until you have a nice large ball-shape. Arrange the loaves on the baking sheet. Let these rise another 30 minutes or so, and preheat the oven to 450 F.
Once the loaves have risen, and the oven is ready, slash the tops of the loaves with a serrated knife in decorative patterns. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is medium brown and firm.
Hi – What’s the House of Black and White? A new book? It would be helpful and above all super-interesting if you could mention where you got the idea of the recipe like with Game of Thrones recipes. Is it a new book series? Or maybe a movie?
The House of Black and White is a place in
A Song of Ice and Fire universe. Umma cooks there.
Actually, these are all still Game of Thrones recipes! The House of Black and White is a temple of sorts in Braavos.
I think this shall be the first bread I make in my new apartment! Looks so easy! Question though, the brine of olives usually imparts great flavor to things – could we almost substitute a small portion of the water for brine?
I’ve used the brine in olive bread before, it works well. Just how much is the question.
The other thing I’d like to add is: please, take the time to hand-check your olives for seeds, or even parts of seeds. For a cup of olives I nearly always find a small one. I like to slice my olives long-ways, this shows any full pits, but also any bits left over where the pitting machine has broken up the seed.
Love the ideas you guys have and, of course, love the books. This looks like an incredibly tasty treat. Thanks for all your hard work and allowing us to eat like the Westerosi,
Did you use all-purpose or bread flour? What about using a mister and a pizza stone on the bottom shelf of the oven to get a firm crust? I’m definitely trying this one and will give the extra loaves to hungry neighbors.
I used all purpose flour, and think a pizza stone would be great, if I had one! :) hope you and your lucky neighbors like it!
With these types of recipes (bread, especially no-knead breads) it’s important to use unbleached all-purpose flour. Bleaching damages the protein structure of the flour, keeping it from forming strong gluten threads that produce that wonderful, chewy, springiness we all love in artisan breads.
I recommend King Arthur or Wegmans FYFGA brands (King Arthur is cheap in New England, and Wegmans is of comparable quality and cost).
I make something similar to this but I also add in anchovies. Its yum.
Oh, that could be very Braavosi!
I made this last night! It’s very quick and simple for a bread recipe (and tasty!), so extra thanks for it, ladies! Very much an seasoned olive oil sort of bread, I definitely get that this is a bread to be enjoyed as such, and not one that you’ll be using with butter or sandwiches.
I made this yesterday to go with a fish chowder I was making. I halved the recipe and despite the measurements being a little wonky (I think I didn’t have enough flour) it still turned out amazingly well. Everyone loved it!
Early morning is probably the worst time to lurk on this blog. This bread looks tasty >.< I think I'll be making it soon enough.
First attempt today! It tastes delicious but did not rise as much as it should I think. It looks more like a focaccia than a loaf. This may be because I made a slap dash attempt to half the ingredients, and maybe a bit short on the yeast? Will attempt the full suggested amount again tomorrow now I know how yummy it is!
The same happened for me today, was very disappointed in the lack of rise, and it does look and feel more like a focaccia.
I’ve made this bread a couple times since I saw this post & both loaves have been amazing. Simple, straight-forward, & easy bread recipe. Love it!
Second attempt produced two beautiful loaves! Now they just need to be scoffed with some garlic and chilli dipping oil :)
Woot! It’s a strange dough if you’re used to kneaded breads, but I really like the final flavor.
Just made it for tomorrow breakfast, but being human had to eat some of it hot with chickpeas paste. And wine. Legen(waitforit)…dary!
I tried it with half the ingredients. but the dough was very runny, so i had to add more flour to get it to a workable consistency. It still turned out more flat-breadish then a proper loaf, but it was very tarsy nontheless. I added a handful of mixed italian herbs…yummy.
I love this recipe, more importantly my wife loved the olive loaf. I added some basil to the dough while mixing, and sprinkled a generous tablespoon of kosher salt across the top of the loaf during the second rising. I used the “cup of water in the broiler pan” trick which resulted in a spongy, moist olive bread that was generously salted and very crunchy on the outside. You were right about the swelling, we used a six quart stock pot for the first rising and it filled the pot to the top!
I made this yesterday, but my bread didn’t seem to be nearly as fluffy-looking as the one in the picture. So I was wondering what type of yeast you used.
I just used a standard instant yeast. If your yeast isn’t instant, it usually needs to be primed in a little warm water to get it started. The age of the yeast can also be a factor, as can the rise-time!
My family loves this. I also brought it to my cousin’s labor day picnic and I had several compliments. I also added chia seeds for something extra.
Ooh, nice personalization!
I love this bread! I’ve made it twice now, and turned out beautifully both times. I posted some pictures of my results on my blog. Thank you guys for your cookbook and website, my husband and I love cooking your recipes.
I would love to try this recipe but I’m afraid I don’t have a big enough bowl (or pot) to let the dough rise, is there any (mathematical) way to split the quantities (especially for the yeast!) in your recipe for a smaller version?
If you split it by half, it should still work fine!
what modifications would you make if you wanted to cook it in a dutch oven? recipe size i’m sure, but do you think it needs any other mods? time? temp?
I’ve never actually cooked bread in a dutch oven, so I’d suggest checking online for some rough directions. And please report back- I’m curious to know how it works out!
Hi there! Man I hope this comment hasn’t been submitted three times now, since this is my third time trying… it doesn’t seem to want me to post a comment! Tee hee. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you think that green Spanish olives stuffed with pimento would work just as well? I’m not a big fan of kalamatas. Blasphemy, I know… =)
Could I leave out the honey, or would that ruin the recipe?
You could leave it out- it helps feed the yeast, so that you get a good rise out of it. A dash of sugar would also work, but you’re probably fine without.
I’m making this right now! Hope it turns out well.
Would it be possible to make it with whole wheat flour? Made it once already and it came out scrumptious, making it for the second time now.
This inspired me to experiment! Just started preparing it. I am using bread flour, since I don’t have any other kind of flour at home right now and instead of olives and olive oil I am using sun dried tomatoes in oil. Can’t wait for the results! I bake bread at home very often, but only thing I always add is seeds and oats. This is going to be interesting :D If this turns out well, I will serve it with pesto made of carrot tops, oregano, basil, walnuts, Parmesan, garlic and olive oil.
My dough did not rise very much. I ended up with two small loaves that were delicious. I used the exact ingredient amounts as stated. Maybe my yeast is too old however I got wonderful bubbles when the yeast was mixed with the flour and water. I also warmed the honey to make it runny to mix with the oil. It was not hot enough to kill the yeast. Will make again but my bread was much heavier with a very crisp crust compared to your lovely loaves in the above picture.
This recipe has proved finicky with me, as well. Sometimes I get a decent loaf, and sometimes it’s more like a flatter foccaccia!
Great recipe! My favorite bread recipe ever. I had no problem with rising and used one packet of instant yeast. I made the full recipe in my kitchenaid mixer and it was the perfect size. The only thing I will do next time is decrease the salt to maybe 3/4 tablespoon. It was a little much for my taste.