Olive Bread
Still using the SFSD recipe from Crust and Crumb. Last week we went to the farmer's market and as we were passing by a bakery stall my daughter and her husband spied the olive bread. "We want olive bread!"Not being a real fan of olives unless it's in pizza or lasagna, I hadn't really considered making it.
Anyways, a few days ago I tried my hand at olive bread using a can of sliced black olives. They complained that they couldn't really taste the olives in it. So this time I used lots of Kalamata olives. It turned the bread purple and really tastes like olives. We will see if they like it now.
I used one of my loaves of SFSD for the olive bread and the other is plain. I put the olives, a tablespoon of the brine and a tablespoon of roasted garlic olive oil in the dough. The olives really increased the hydration. I should of held back more of the water. I ended up working in a bit more flour to get it how I wanted it. It still turned out a bit wetter than the other dough. When I added the olive oil last time I made olive bread, I liked what it did to the texture of the crust. It seemed to come out a bit thinner, a little more tender, but still crispy. So this time I added a tablespoon of butter to the second loaf and I do like how crust turned out. And they did sing to me nicely afterward.
Another difference this time is that I didn't get to use my dutch oven. My daughter decided to make chili this morning and didn't realize I needed the pot for the bread. So I improvised. I used my pizza stone and an old stainless steel dutch oven over it. I used it as a lid because I don't have the lid for the pot anymore. Looks like it worked out well this way too. Except I burned my knuckle trying to maneuver that pot over the bread!
Here is a crumb shot of both loaves:
Comments
Beautiful loaves Kathy. The crumb and crust looks amazing! Great oven spring all around.
I love black and olive and rosemary SD. One of my faves to make every once in awhile.
Cheers!
Thanks Dave. My daughter and her husband liked the olive bread, though my son-in-law thought the kalamata olive was a bit strong in parts. But it is a strong olive. Maybe I'll try green olives next time. I don't know... I'm not an olive aficionado. My grandson didn't like it. He likes olives, but didn't care for it in the bread. I could try using less kalamata olive and chopping it up a bit more so there won't be any large chunks in the bread. Well, we will see if they eat it all up or not.
I buy whole black olives, rinse them thoroughly, let them dry and then chop them up. But not too small.
That way I don't get the added hydration and such a strong olive taste. Basically you get the taste when you bite into an olive. It blends well with everything else.
Also I do not knead the bread. I do stretch and folds only. I add the olives in slowly during each stretch and fold so as to not crush the olives.
Thank you Dave! I will try your suggestions the next time I bake an olive loaf.
Kathy, great crust and I bet...great taste too. Keep baking and keep posting please :)
Happy Baking,
FrugalBaker
Thanks FrugalBaker. I am having a blast learning sourdough baking. And we get to eat it too!
but never hardly ever get to make it since the girls hate olive in everything:-( But is nice to see those who aren't saddles with this baggage making it.:-) Garlic olive oil also sounds like a great add in.
Well done and happy baking
Baking is a happy occupation, isn't it? It's a challenge with the benefits of having something tasty to eat at the end. The loaf was rather large for my family to eat in a couple of days so I gave a few slices to a friend of mine today and she loved it. I am thinking that next time I would make little loaves rather than one big one.
i have a picholine olive bread that my wife is in love with. They are a green tasty smallish but flavorful olive from France I think. They are not as powerful as Kalamatas. They add salt to the bread so be cautious with yoyr salt addition unless you are like my for whom I add large crystals to the crust for crunch and zing. PS: I find picholines are sometimes hard to find. Also try adding some sweet red pepper to a black olive bread. Yum!
Thank you! I will definitely look for them and give them a try. I need all the hints I can get!
I'm new here and love this site with its energy in all things "bread". I love olive bread and yours looks divine. Any chance you would share the recipe?