Cheese Ham and Olive Bread

Name: Cheese Ham and Olive Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 1 loaf, 12 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour; 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 4 eggs, at room temperature; 1/2 cup whole milk; 6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 1/2 ounces ham, cut in small dice (about 3 tbsp); 1 1/2 tablespoons olive tapenade (use in place of ham if preferred) (optional); 6 ounces swiss cheese (about 1 1/2 cups) or 6 ounces cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups); 2/3 cup pitted black olives, each olive sliced horizontally into 1/4-inch rings

Recipe by DrGaellon

This is a quick bread, leavened with baking powder, not yeast, giving it a dense, moist crumb. You can use olive tapenade instead of diced ham if you prefer. Adapted from a recipe at Brown Eyed Baker (which she adapted from Dorie Greenspan's _Around My French Table_). http://bit.ly/a9clqz

READY IN: 1hr

SERVES: 12

YIELD: 1 loaf

UNITS: US

INGREDIENTS

Nutrition

1 ²⁄₃

cups all-purpose flour
2 ³⁄₄

teaspoons baking powder
³⁄₄

teaspoon salt
4

eggs, at room temperature
¹⁄₂

cup whole milk
6 ¹⁄₂

tablespoons olive oil
1 ¹⁄₂

ounces ham, cut in small dice (about 3 tbsp)
1 ¹⁄₂

tablespoons olive tapenade (use in place of ham if preferred) (optional)
6

6 ounces swiss cheese (about 1 1/2 cups) or 6 ounces cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
²⁄₃

cup pitted black olives, each olive sliced horizontally into 1/4-inch rings

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8.5-x-4.5-inch loaf pan.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
In a second bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then whisk in the milk, olive oil, and ham (or tapenade). Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and stir gently, just until everything is moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the cheese and olives; DO NOT OVERMIX. Scrape the batter into the pan.
Bake the loaf for 10 minutes at 400°F Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F and continue to bake the loaf for another 35 minutes, until it’s puffed and golden, and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes, then turn it out. Turn the loaf right side up and let cool completely on the rack.