33. Olive Bread
Well, it’s been a minute…
Sorry that I have neglected this for the past two months. I’ve been working a fair amount of overtime recently, so while I’ve been able to bake, I’ve not had the time to blog about it! Sorry again, but the work is slowing down a bit more now, so I’m committing more to this. I’m planning on posting once a week, and if I don’t, feel free to yell at me. Nice yelling, but still. I don’t want to abandon this for so long again!
Anyway, that’s the apology, so… Moving on.
I went for a picnic with my Mum and boyfriend in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park this weekend. He was introduced to our usual picnic spread, while wrapped in a blanket against the wind. I was proud of him for braving the North! He seemed a bit surprised by our picnic choices though. Mum and I go BIG.
Our picnics always include:
Pork pies
Sausage rolls
Carrots/Peppers
Hummus
Ham
Pringles
Schloer/Orange juice/Lemonade
Brownies/Rocky Road bites
and ALWAYS ALWAYS includes Olive Bread.
There’s something so great about Olive Bread. The bread is great, but the little pockets of salty goodness, smothered in butter. It’s just the best.
So here you go Momma. Here’s my take on our favourite!
Ingredients
500g strong flour
1 packet of dried yeast (7g)
2 tsp salt
60-70g pitted olives
300ml warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
Method
In a bowl, combine the flour, yeast and salt.
Chop the olives roughly and mix them through the dry ingredients.
Prepare another bowl by lightly oiling it.
Make a well in the flour and pour in the olive oil and water. Mix until it all comes together.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth.
Place your dough in the oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise for an hour until doubled in size.
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back (a good time to get stress out, punch that bread in the face).
Line a baking sheet with baking paper and form your dough into a ball. Leave it to rise on the baking sheet for another hour until it has doubled in size again.
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Sprinkle the dough lightly with some flour and slash a cross into the top with a sharp knife (I didn’t slice deep enough, so my loaf didn’t “burst” quite the way I wanted it to)
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Allow to cool a bit and serve with olive oil or smothered in butter.
