Olive Bread

Name: Olive Bread
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1½ cups milk, lukewarm; 1 envelope yeast; 1½ tsp. sea salt; 3 cups All-purpose flour; ¼-½ cup Kosterina extra virgin olive oil; 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped; 1 TBSP. dried Greek oregano

By Marilena Leavitt

Olive Bread

About this recipe:

When we say that cooking bread is easy, would you believe us? Well, this bread only requires 7 ingredients to make, and no kneading or rolling (or flour all over the floor).

Ingredients

1½ cups milk, lukewarm
1 envelope yeast
1½ tsp. sea salt
3 cups All-purpose flour
¼-½ cup Kosterina extra virgin olive oil
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
1 TBSP. dried Greek oregano

Directions

Pour the milk into a large glass bowl and stir in the yeast until it dissolves. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Mix the flour and the salt in a small bowl and slowly add it to the bowl with the milk and the yeast, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, until the flour is well incorporated. At this point, the dough will still be sticky – do not add more flour. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook. (That’s is what I usually do.)
Cover the bowl with a towel, place it in a warm spot and let it rise for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place a 12” cast iron skillet in the oven until it is very hot.
Add the Kosterina extra virgin olive oil, the chopped olives and the oregano to the bread dough and mix well with a spatula, folding over the dough and scrapping the sides of the bowl, until well incorporated.
Carefully remove from heat the hot pan, line it with a piece of parchment paper and immediately add the dough, spreading and smoothing the top with a spatula.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until it is golden brown on the top and the bottom.
Remove from the oven and let the bread cool a bit in the pan. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Author notes

A variation of this bread includes also Greek feta cheese. Substitute half of the olives with crumbled feta cheese.