Rustic Olive Bread

Rustic Olive Bread is wonderfully fruity with a gorgeous crumb. It's easy to make and a pleasure to serve.

*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2013. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.

I was trying to recreate a bread I had tasted at my sister's house after she'd taken a trip to her local farmers market.

What I recall was a delicious loaf that had an over-the-top olive oil flavor and that had a texture that was light and airy but left your fingers needing a napkin (or a good licking) to cleanse them of all that delicious olive oil that was left behind.....Hardly a bad thing. 😉

Here's the recipe I came up with but it fell slightly short of the oily finger syndrome.

It did, however, have a wonderfully fragrant and fruity olive taste that made for some really wicked tasting slices AND bread crumbs with the few slices I managed to hide from the family, (oh yeah, I SO did that)!

RUSTIC OLIVE BREAD      {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
Prep time: 15 minutes     Proof time: 1 hour 20 minutes      Bake time: 40 minutes

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, roughly chopped (feel free to use whatever kind of olives you prefer)
olive oil spray

-In a small bowl, mix together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes until the mixture gets foamy.
-Stir the salt and olive oil into the yeast mixture.
-Add the yeast and olive oil mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl),  and using the dough hook (or wooden spoon) add in the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring (kneading) after each addition.
-Once the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl and has formed a ball, add in the chopped olives and knead (stir) an additional few minutes until the olives are incorporated evenly throughout the dough.
-Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
-Spray the inside of the bowl with olive oil spray and return the dough ball to the bowl.
-Spray the top of the dough ball with a little more olive oil spray and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
-Allow the dough to rise in a warm place in your kitchen for approximately 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled.
-Punch the dough down to deflate and carefully turn the dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, which gives it the lovely round rustic shape without any hassle.
-Allow the dough to rise again in a warm, draft-free spot for another 20 minutes.
-Using a sharp serrated knife, slice a ½" deep cross on the top of the loaf.
-Bake the bread in a preheated 425-degree oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
-Allow the bread to cool and then slice and serve.
*To make breadcrumbs, hide several slices (but maybe that's just me, LOL) and cover them loosely, allowing them to dry out (on the countertop or in the fridge) for at least a day or two. Using a food processor, process the dried slices until you have breadcrumbs with a consistency you like. These breadcrumbs are simply delicious for breading chicken or pork.