Easy Olive Loaf

Palestinians are known for their olives: their olive trees, olive oil, and pickled or preserved olives. We're proud of our olives & heritage!

You can learn more about the importance of olive trees to Palestinians' history, tradition, & livelihoods here (this video also briefly touches on how Israel's illegal military occupation of Palestine is destroying our orchards and, by extension, our traditions).

Despite this world renowned reputation, I've only ever liked canned, pitted black olives (apologies to my people), and I really like them. So when I decided to finally try baking bread, I knew an olive loaf would be my go to. I used this recipe from The Wanderlust Kitchen as my base, and made minor edits to the recipe, which is below. The result is a slightly salty dough with the texture of a crusty white bread. Enjoy!

Standard Ingredients

Makes one loaf

• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

• 2 & 3/4 cups bread flour, plus extra for dusting and kneading

• 1 cup lukewarm water (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit / 40-46 degrees Celsius)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 1 can (6 oz, 170g) of whole pitted black olives, sliced.

• Optional: 1 Tablespoon of dried rosemary, thyme, Italian seasoning, whatever you prefer.

Possible Substitutions

• All purpose flour

• Any pitted olive variety (you'll need about 1 cup of sliced olives total)

• A can of pre-sliced black olives

Directions

1. Combine the 1 & 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, 2 & 3/4 cups bread flour, 1 cup lukewarm water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, & 2 teaspoons olive oil in a bowl. Use a spatula to roughly combine the ingredients, and let it rest for 15 minutes to activate the yeast.

   1. Note on the water: I used tap water that just felt lukewarm to me, I did not measure its temperature. You can if you'd like, though. At the end of the day, as long as it's not too hot to kill the yeast, and not too cold to be useless, you have a good window of "lukewarm" to work with.

2. While you wait, if you have whole olives, slice them into three slices. Place them onto a towel or paper-towel to absorb the moisture. Set aside a handful to top the loaf with, and the rest will go into the bread.

3. After the 15 minutes is up, you'll add the olives and, if you're using them, your dried herbs into the bread. Start by adding the olives to the bowl and use a spatula to fold the pieces in. When that becomes difficult, dump the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and start kneading it.

4. As you knead the dough, add any unincorporated olive pieces into the middle, then knead the dough on top of the pieces to incorporate them. The olives will start to break up and you'll notice the dough will feel wet. Add a 1/2 a Tablespoon of additional flour and knead it into the dough. Repeat this step until the dough no longer feels sticky.

   1. Even after the stickiness goes away, you may need to keep kneading until it reaches the right texture. I've found that I need about 6 minutes of kneading with medium force to get my desired result. You'll know the dough has been kneaded enough when you gently poke it and it springs back, and/or when the dough no longer tears when you pull at it. More tips here.

5. Once it's well kneaded, add the dough ball to an olive-oiled bowl, covered with a light towel, and put it in a warm place to rise for 60 minutes.

   1. I use my oven for the first rise, and one thing I've found helpful is to preheat my oven to its lowest setting, turn it off, and leave the door wide open for 10 minutes before I stick my dough in to rise. I leave the door open because my oven's lowest setting is 170 degrees F, and we should keep the environment between 80-90 degrees F. Some folks claim the oven's pilot light provides enough warmth, so you could try just turning on the oven light, too.

6. After 60 minutes, gently punch the dough back down into the bowl. Take it out of the bowl and put it on a lightly floured surface. Give it 2-3 kneads and shape it into whatever shape you'd like, then place it on a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. At this point, grab the olive slices you set aside earlier and add them to the top of the dough, gently pressing them into the surface.

   1. You'll know the dough has had enough time for the first rise if it's about doubled in size and if, when you gently poke it, the dough slowly springs back and almost totally refills the indent.

7. Leave the dough to rise for another 60 minutes, uncovered, in a warm spot. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

   1. You'll know the dough has had enough time for the second rise if it's about doubled in size and if, when you gently poke it, the dough slowly springs back and refills most of the indent. I recommend poking it near the bottom of the loaf so the indent won't affect the appearance of your loaf. More tips here.

8. Once the dough is done with its second rise, take a sharp knife and add some shallow cuts to the top of the bread. I like to do one down the middle, and four shorter, accent cuts around it. This will help the gases release when it's baking. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack.

9. Add a second baking sheet to the bottom rack of the oven. To this baking sheet, add a cup of hot water. Close the oven door & bake for 30-45 minutes.*

   1. To confirm your dough is done baking, you can use a thermometer (stick it in from the side or bottom). The dough should be 190 degrees F or more. You can also try the sound test: use your thumb to tap the bottom of the loaf, and it's done if it sounds hollow. More tips here.

10. Let your bread cool on a wire rack before slicing with a serrated knife.

    1. There are a number of ways to store your bread. I sliced mine down the middle and kept both open ends face down on a cutting board for a couple days. If you still have bread after 2 days of this, you can stick the two halves together and place it in a paper bag, or wrap it in a plastic bag. More tips here.

Sahtein!

*Sidenote: the original recipe called for 30 minutes of baking time, but my loaf was very pale after just 30 minutes. I added the 15 minutes and it didn't dry out the loaf in any noticeable way. I've tried this loaf twice, and the first time I also raised the oven temperature to 410 degrees F to get more color on the loaf. The second time, I just added the extra time. Bottom line: set your timer for 30 minutes to start checking its progress because ovens vary!