Olive-Rosemary Loaves

Sharlene~W's Note:

I love this fragrant loaf of bread! You will have definitely better success if you use bread flour, but if you don't have bread flour, increase to 5 1/2 cups for all-purpose flour. Prep time includes rising time.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 24

Yield: 2.0 loaves

• 1 1/2 cups water (105° to 115°F)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup kalamata olives or 1 cup green olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water, 3 tablespoons oil, yeast and sugar; stir to dissolve.
2. Let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
3. Stir in remaining 1 cup warm water, olives, rosemary, salt and 4 cups flour until combined.
4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, working in enough of remaining 1 1/4 cups flour just to keep dough from sticking.
5. Shape dough into ball; place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease top.
6. Cover bowl and let dough rise in warm place until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).
7. Punch down dough.
8. Turn onto lightly floured surface and cut in half.
9. Cover and let rest 15 minutes (it is easier to shape if you let it rest).
10. Grease large cookie sheet.
11. Shape each dough half into an oval about 7 inches by 4 inches; place at least 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
12. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).
13. Preheat oven to 400°F degrees.
14. Brush tops of loaves with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
15. With sharp knife or razor blade, cut three diagonal slashes across top of each loaf.
16. Bake until golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom (about 30 minutes).
17. Cool on wire rack.

Reviews

[~Paula~]

I made the two loaves of this bread yesterday and would agree with mianbo that they were very easy to make. I really enjoyed the crusty exterior as well as the tender center. The only change I made was when baking, I added a small pan of water in the oven for humidity and baked on baking stones. My husband commented that it reminded him of bread we have had at a local restaurant! Everyone in our house (kids too!) loved this recipe!

[mianbao]

This is a very nice and easy to make bread. I used it to make 1½-ounce rolls; the yield was 28. I used bread flour, but needed the extra half cup. Other than that, I did not change anything in the recipe. Thank you for posting this, Sharlene.

[R. Warren Meddoff]

We sliced the olives rather than chopped it and baked it in oiled pans rather than on a sheet. Turned out marvelous.