Olive bread

Dotted with salty, meaty kalamata olives, this bread is a great starter served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Olive bread Credit: One World Kitchen

• makes

  1 loaf

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 4 ½ cups bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fast-acting yeast
• ½ tbsp dried mint
• 1 ½ cups (375 ml) lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¾ cup onion, grated
• 1½ cups pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped

To serve

• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar

Resting time: 1-2 hours

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, yeast, and mint. Create a well in the centre of the bowl and add water, honey, olive oil, and onion. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones and mix to form a dough.
2. On a floured surface, knead dough for 10 to 15 minutes, or until stretchy and smooth. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set to rest in a warm place for 1½ to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
3. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375 F) and grease two baking sheets with olive oil.
4. Divide the dough into two pieces, then, on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a rectangle that would fit on your baking sheet. Cover the surface of each rectangle of dough with olives. Starting at one of the long edges, roll up the dough, then place the loaf seam-side down on the baking tray.
5. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, or until the surface is golden brown. Serve olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.