Sunday Bread, Black Pepper Olive Bread

by: Bill Egnor

Sun Jan 15, 2012 at 10:00:38 AM EST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we are going to make a Black Pepper Olive Bread. I've been playing with this recipe for several years. It starts with a very rich bread that includes eggs and butter. Added to that is a good portion of freshly cracked black pepper, then an assortment of olives are rolled into the bread.

The final loaf is the prefect combination of saltiness from the olives, offset by the pepper and the lovely bread. It is makes a accompaniment to soft cheeses or  the bed for a honey-cured ham sandwich.

Best of all it is supper easy to make!

Before we get started lets talk about olives a little bit. Depending on where you live your local mega-mart might have an olive bar in their deli section. This is a good place to get a wide variety of olives, but for this recipe we have to be a little picky.

For reasons of appearance you will want to have both black and green olives. What kind does not really matter, but it is the size that is important. Do not buy the huge olives, even with the medium sized olives we are going to have to cut most of them in half lengthwise so there is no point in buying the giant ones, it will make more work and make the bread come out less appealing.

Also you need to be sure that you buy pitted olives. Trying to cut through a pit with a bread knife is a losing proposition, but unexpectedly biting down on one is even worse. Be sure that you have olives with the pits removed.

If you don't have an olive bar at your local store, no worries. Most stores will have, at the very least, canned pitted black and green olives. These can be used quite nicely. But before you buy those, check out what passes for their gourmet food aisle. You are likely to find jars of mixed olives like Kalamata, Prune and Green olives. In fact that is exactly what I used for this recipe. An 5 oz jar will be plenty for this recipe and it should not cost more than $5.

Now that we have the details about olives out of the way, let's bake!  

Ingredients:

3 cups bread or all purpose flour
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup hot (120-130 degrees) water
2 eggs at room temperature
¼ cup ( ½ stick) butter at room temperature
1 cup mixed green and black olives
Egg wash (1 egg yolk beaten with ½ water)

Baking Sheets - 1 sheet pan, lined with parchment paper

Method:

In your large mixing bowl or the work bowl of your stand mixer, combine 2 cups of flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt. Give this a stir with the flat paddle attachment or a wooden spoon to combine.

Add the hot water, eggs and butter. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes. This will form a thick smooth batter.

Add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time, to form a shaggy mass that can be kneaded. If you are kneading this by hand, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.

There is a trick that I just realized I had never shared with you Bread Heads, so I am going to share it today. When you are kneading bread by hand you are looking to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface and your hands.

The best way to do this is to make a small pile of flour in the middle of your work surface and set (don't plop it down as this will shoot flour all over you and you kitchen) the dough down on the pile of flour.

Now it is time to knead. Start by pushing the dough down and away from you with both the palms of both hands. Then turn it 90 degrees (rotating it on the flour) and fold the bottom up across the middle. Press the dough firmly down and away with both palms.

What this will do is make sure that you always have a floured surface to press and that any flour worked into the dough this way is evenly distributed. Knead this bread for 8 minutes using the method above.

If you are using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead for 8 minutes on low speed. There is enough fat in this dough that it probably will not need any extra flour, but if it is sticking to the sides you can give it a sprinkle or two.

When the dough is fully kneaded, place in a large greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. The richness of this dough means that it is going to take a long time to rise. It should have doubled in volume in about 1 ½ hours.

While the dough is rising, drain and rinse the olives. Cut about 90% of them lengthwise and set aside.

When the dough is risen, it is time to form the loaf.

You could try to roll this dough out, but I have found that it is just easier to stretch it. The rich dough dose not tear so it is easy to stretch.

Turn the dough out onto your work surface (don't flour it, you don't need it). Press the dough into a rough square. Then pull on the sides, firmly. You will now have a longer rectangle. Then pull on the top and bottom this will probably make it a rectangle in the other direction. Just keep working the sides until you have a 14" by 14" square.

Now it is time to add the olives. Distribute the olives evenly on the square, being sure to leave a 1" strip at the top (this will allow you to make a nice tight seal on the seam). Press the olives gently into the dough.

Then starting at the side nearest you, tightly roll the dough up. Pinch the seams to seal and set the loaf on your baking sheet.

Press the top of the dough down to flatten out it out a bit.

Cover with wax paper and allow it to rise for 30 minutes. It is not going to double in that time but will puff up somewhat.

Twenty minutes before baking, set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.

When the loaf is puffy and the oven is hot, paint your loaf with the egg wash. Slip the pan into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

When it is done the loaf will be dark brown and shiny. Remove it from the oven and cool on a wire wrack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This bread is particularly good warm. The olives stay warm longer than the bread so when they are cut they release a great olive smell.

There you go, Bread Heads, a recipe that you can make today to eat while you're watching football or whatever this Sunday afternoon holds.

The flour is yours!