Olive Bread

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Olive Bread

This past weekend was a nice respite to triple digit weather.  In fact, the weather was wet and a bit chilly.  Perfect for bread paired with a steaming bowl of soup ... or chili ....  Hence came olive bread.
Olive bread.  I've always liked olive bread; olive bread combines the salty briney-ness of olives with soft white bread.  I usually am not a big fan of breads sweetened with honey or sugar, preferring the savory kind to the mildly sweet.  Olive bread is easy to make and versatile, since you can incorporate whatever kind of olives and as many as you can possibly savor in one slice as you want.  You can spread bruschetta or even better, olive tapenade, on the bread.  Or, you can slather with pate!  Of course, there is always almond or peanut butter.  But, since I was going to have peanut butter ice cream afterwards, I decided to forego the spreads and eat the bread plain, as they were.

Simple Pairing with Fruits

Recipe
Olive Bread
2 1/2 cups warm water (110 F)
1 TSP molasses
2 TBSP active dry east
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP salt
7 1/2 cups bread flour
2 cups olives, any kind you wish

Place water, yeast, and molasses in a mixing bowl; stir to mix.  Let stand for a few minutes until mixture is creamy and foamy.
Add olive oil and salt; mix.  Add flour, about a cup at a time, until sought is too stiff to stir.  Add olives.
Turn dough out not a lightly floured board.  Knead, adding flour as needed to keep from being sticky, until smooth and elastic.  Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn to coat the dough surface with oil.  Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour or so.
Punch the dough down, split into 2 pieces, and form 2 round loaves.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Spray with cold water.  Let loaves rise 25 - 30 minutes.
Bake at 400 F for about 46 minutes, or until they are brown and sound hollow when tapped on bottom.
Enjoy!