olive bread

How to make Crusty Sourdough Bread, infused with rosemary, roasted garlic and olives that requires no kneading and rises overnight. Made with sourdough starter instead of yeast! Allow 10-14 hours rising time!

Rosemary Olive Sourdough Bread

flour

sea salt (12 grams)

sourdough starter (use after

water (385 grams)

kalamata olives

rosemary,

garlic

rice flour for dusting (or sub regular flour)

Read through and perfect

the No-Knead Sourdough Recipe (watch the video there) I recommend not attempting this until you have mastered that recipe. 🙂

Mix the dough

At night, in a large bowl, mix flour and salt together. In a small bowl, mix starter and water together using a fork. Pour the starter-water into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until relatively combined. Using a wooden spoon, or dough mixer, scrape sides and mix dough for one minute, incorporating all the flour. The dough will feel thick and heavy and shaggy. Just do your best to incorporate all the flour. If for some reason the dough will not incorporate all the flour, add a tablespoon of water at a time to get it incorporated. Cover with a damp kitchen cloth, wait 15 minutes and do 2 sets of stretch and folds, 15 minutes apart. See video.

RISE

Let rise overnight on the counter 10-14 hours.  65F-70F is ideal. In the morning, the dough should have swelled, but not quite doubled. Do the poke test.

Prepare your banneton dusting the banneton with rice flour and perhaps some olives and rosemary in the bottom ( which will end up being the top.) See notes for using a regular bowl.

SHAPE

Using a wet dough scraper, or wet fingers, loosen the dough around the edges and pour it onto a well-floured surface. Treat the dough gently, flattening lightly with your fingertips into a rough rectangle about 1 1/2 inches thick. It need not be perfect. Sprinkle the olives, rosemary and garlic over the surface. Using the dough scraper, lift up one side, stretching just a bit up and over to the middle, then fold up the other side, like a tri-fold envelope. Turn the dough horizontally.  Let the dough rest for 1 minute. Then repeat. Gently flatten with fingertips (it needn&#8217;t be as flat as the first time), then tri-fold. Pinch the seams closed and lift into the prepared banneton, seam side up.

REST &amp; PREHEAT

Place dough in the fridge uncovered for 1 hour, while you preheat the oven to 500F (or 475F) with your lidded dutch oven inside.

SCORE

Pull the dough from the fridge and have your lame (or sharp knife or razor blade) ready to score. Place a piece of parchment over the banneton and flip the dough, setting down on the counter over the parchment. Score 3/4 -1 inch deep at a 45-degree angle- basically wherever you want the dough to puff up. One slash is fine, or create a design.

Pull the dutch oven from the oven, and close the oven door. Remove the lid,  place the scored dough into the dutch oven lifting it by the corners of the parchment. (See notes) Quickly cover and place back in the oven.

 BAKE

Place in the middle of the oven for 20 mins with convection on, 25 minutes w/no convection (or 28 minutes at 450F). Remove lid and it should be puffed and just lightly golden. Lower heat to 450 F, continue baking 10-15 minutes until deeply golden and internal temp reaches 202- 208F.  No pale loaves please, let them get golden!

COOL

 Remove from the dutch oven, let it cool 1 hour on a rack or tilted up on its side, before slicing so you don’t let the steam out and don’t smash it- be patient. This is the hardest part. 😉. Take a picture! Feel proud. You did it!

I've been making sourdough bread for a couple of years now but am always a bit shy when adding anything to it. I used two cups of all purpose flour and two cups of a 60/40 bread blend. It had a good rise and crumb with a little bit of whole wheat goodness.  I was worried that the rosemary might be a bit overpowering but it wasn't at all.  The bread had a savory mediterranean flavor.  I definitely will be making this one again.

I made this bread the other day and I think it was the best bread I've ever made! It was delicious and so beautiful. Thank you Sylvia for all of your amazing recipes. I love them all!

Best bread ever! Added some pecorino- so tasty!

I made two loaves using the basic recipe last weekend. It turned out wonderfully and was delicious. I followed the directions, mostly, but used a 1/3 - 2/3 ratio of all purpose Einkorn flour and Einkorn wheat flour. Used a round banneton basket for the second rise. After three hours or so I scored the top and put it in a preheated dutch oven for 30 minutes at 500 degrees, then took the lid off and baked it another 12 minutes at 450. Each loaf was a beautiful burnished brown color. The crust was just hard and flakey enough leaving the crumb soft, chewy and nutty in flavor. The only thing I would change is that I would chop the roasted garlic in half next time rather than using whole cloves. Still wonderfully delicious.

I tried making this bread. Mostly everything came out exactly as planned. The bread was delicious. One thing I'll do differently the next time is not put any garlic at the bottom of the banneton. Sylvia did actually do this, and I didn't realize it, and just used my rosemary + garlic + olive mix. All the garlic on the surface got burnt. I had a question. My rosemary + garlic + olive mix didn't mix well into the dough. It was visible in one layer in the bread. I followed the recipe exactly. Not sure what was wrong, but next time, during shaping, when I put olives in the middle of the rectangle shaped dough, I'll cover more to the edge.

This was spectacular. It was like 'statement bread'. It made me look like a genius, like a pro.

I made your no knead sourdough twice before I attempted this one. Delicious! I only added olives and rosemary though, no garlic. My only problem was the olive distribution. They all ended up just under the surface of the bread at the top of the loaf. I would like them to be more evenly spread about. Any suggestions? Could I mix them in the evening before, when doing all the stretching/ folding?

Excellent recipe and incredibly explained, every single detail. Can not thank you enough. ♥️♥️

Hey, I've been doing your basic dough recipy for ages now and comes up perfect every time (well if I look after my starter properly that is!) Thank you will try the olive bread today 😬

This bread is a winner and so gorgeous that I posted a photo on Instagram. Regarding adding the olives and rosemary during the tri-fold process:  I think the recipe means that you fold it twice with HALF of the olive/rosemary mixture each time. Otherwise I think it would come out with the olives all in one place (as others have commented). This dough was so beautiful to work with - loved every step. I forgot to press "start" on my oven for an hour before baking and had already scored my bread when I realized that. Yikes! I put the scored bread back in the refrigerator (on the parchment bread) and preheated the oven for an hour.  Whew, it still turned out great! This is an excellent recipe and I'll make this again. Thank you Sylvia!

I can’t wait to make this! May I ask why you call for a starter past it’s peak and not at it’s peak?

I've made this bread and it was excellent.  My question is whether I can make the same dough but substitute dried cherries or cranberries and walnuts for the olives and rosemary. I don't see why it wouldn't work but thought I'd ask!  

Also, I'm currently at a high altitude. Any changes I should make?

Love this bread. I sprinkled 1 tablespoon Herbe de provence and 125g chopped black olives over laid out dough. Followed instructions on folding and my olives were nicely layered in loaf.

It came out so beautiful. I wish I could upload a picture with my comment. I love everything about this recipe - it's not overly complicated - it doesn't require endless cycles of stretch and folds; it works well with my schedule (start at night, finish the next day but not too early in the day), and the bread turned out to be such a beauty. I followed all the instructions without having to alter anything. Thank you for this recipe!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/j5IPZwWE.mp4

A video on how to do the stretch and fold technique when making sourdough bread. 

Sourdough Bread -stretch and fold technique

Chewy olive bread is perfect for charcuterie!

Homemade Mediterranean Olive Bread

bread flour (plus extra for dusting your work surface)

tsp active dry yeast

tsp salt

water

olives

olive oil

Cornmeal

Lay a clean kitchen towel on a cookie tray and dust liberally with corn meal. Set aside with another towel beside it. You will also need a large dutch oven or heavy ceramic pot with a lid.

Combine the flour, yeast and salt together in a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Add the warm water and gently mix together &nbsp;until the dough starts to come together.

Add the chopped olives and mix until well combined.

Take the dough out of the bowl and knead very gently into a ball shape.

Coat a large bowl with the olive oil and return the dough into the center of it.

Cover with a clean towel and Let it sit until it doubles in size.

Once it has risen, take it out of the bowl and lay it on your table. Roughly press the dough into a flat circle.

Fold the dough over on itself kneading it back into a ball.

Lay the dough onto the cornmeal dusted towel, seam side down.

Dust the top of the dough with some extra cornmeal and cover with the towel again.

Let rest until it's almost doubled in size again.

Watch it closely and when you see that it's almost ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and place the empty pot into it.

When the oven has reached it's temperature, take off the top towel and using a sharp serrated knife, cut two slits across the top of the dough.

Take the pot out of the oven and very carefully lift and drop the bread into the pot.

Place the lid on and put it back into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take the lid from the pot and bake for a further 20-30 minutes and the crust is golden and crispy.

Let cool before slicing.

This Pioneer Woman olive bread comprises olives and cheese and is a great snack. Consider serving it alongside a soup or stew for dinner, or having it as an hors d'oeuvre with friends.

Pioneer Woman Olive Bread

green onions

butter,

mayonnaise

Monterey Jack cheese, grated

crusty French bread, sliced lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the green onions into thin slices.

In a large bowl, stir the butter with the mayonnaise, cheese, olives, and green onions until combined.

Spread the olive mixture evenly over the French bread in a thin layer.

Bake the olive bread until the cheese is melted and browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Serve with Yum Yum Sauce.

Follow this recipe and enjoy homemade olive bread that's altogether crisp, soft, garlicky, herby, and salty. Review Notes before beginning. If you’re new to working with yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.

Easy No-Knead Olive Bread

instant or active dry yeast

teaspoons coarse salt (see note)

oregano

garlic powder

(about 135 grams) roughly chopped olives

optional: cornmeal

In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, salt, oregano, and garlic powder together. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix in the olives. Pour in the water and gently mix together. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can. (Tip: Stir dough by hand. Dough is too sticky for a mixer.)

Keeping the dough in the bowl, cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine). Allow to rise for 2-3 hours. The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.

You can continue with step 4 immediately, but for absolute best flavor and texture, I strongly recommend letting this risen dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. (Even just a couple hours is good!) Place covered dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The dough will puff up during this time, but may begin to deflate after 2 days. That&#8217;s normal and nothing to worry about.

Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet (with or without rims and make sure it&#8217;s nonstick) with flour and/or cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Using generously floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. Dough is very sticky. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Loosely cover and allow dough to rest for 45 minutes. You will bake the dough on this prepared baking sheet. See recipe note if you want to use a pizza stone or dutch oven.

During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).

When ready to bake, using a very sharp knife or bread lame (some even use kitchen shears), score the dough with a slash or an X, about 1/2 inch deep. (&#8220;Score&#8221; = shallow cut.) If the shaped loaf flattened out during the 45 minutes, use floured hands to reshape into a ball.

Optional for a slightly crispier crust: After the oven is preheated and bread is scored, place a shallow metal or cast iron baking pan or skillet (I usually use a metal 9&#215;13 baking pan) on the bottom oven rack. Carefully and quickly pour 3-4 cups of boiling water into it. Place the scored dough/baking pan on a higher rack and quickly shut the oven, trapping the steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust.

Place the shaped and scored dough (on the flour/cornmeal dusted pan) in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. How to test for doneness– give the warm loaf a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).

Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10-20 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

OMG THIS IS THE BEST OLIVE BREAD I’VE EVER EATEN! I’m not normally a good baker but this recipe was so simple and easy to follow.

We loved this recipe, one of the best loaves I've ever made! I'd like to try the jalapeno and olive one next, but am wondering why the recipes are so different? I'd like to use bread flour, rest the dough overnight in the fridge, and bake longer at a slightly lower temperature (as in this recipe). Any reason I can't do that and use the jalapenos/cheese instead?  Thank you!

This was amazing. I was looking for something similar to a bakery, and this did not disappoint. Lots of olives! Made it in my Dutch oven and had a perfect texture, crispy outside. Thank you!

I have been merrily working my way through Sally's bread recipes. This one may be the best yet. I followed the directions using all-purpose flour and place the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  The final product is delicious.  My guess is this loaf will not last the day.

This is scrumptious bread, and so easy! I made it with 1/2 kalamata, 1/2 green olives and used fresh garlic. I also used 330g of organic white bread flour and 100g of wheat bread flour. I did not refrigerate it - let it rise at room temperature for 3hrs, then another 45 min while oven preheated and baked it in a dutch oven. It is outstanding!! Thank you for demystifying bread making- it is so easy, so satisfying— I can’t stop making bread!

Confidence restored!  I’ve tried to make bread several times now and felt like a failure every single time. I follow your pizza dough recipe and it’s immaculate every time, so I’m very glad I decided to try your olive bread recipe. It turned out perfectly. I had some doubts because the dough was suuuuper sticky and not firm but I just trusted the process and have no regrets! Making bread seems a little less daunting now ☺️

This crusty gluten free olive bread is incredibly easy to make and, as it only requires a single rise, it’s ready in about 2 hours! It has a wonderfully soft, chewy crumb and a crisp, golden crust. The olive oil and a generous amount of olives in the dough give it a fantastic flavour, so it’s really guaranteed to be a hit with everyone, regardless of whether or not they follow a gluten free diet. And it&#39;s vegan too!

Easy Gluten Free Olive Bread

+ 1½ tbsp) tapioca starch

105 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) sorghum flour

millet

sugar

g (1½ tsp) table or sea salt

g (2 tsp) apple cider vinegar

g (1 tbsp) olive oil

You can prepare the dough using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment or by hand.

In a bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and 240 g (1 cup) water. After about 15-20 seconds, a gel will form.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of the stand mixer, if using it), whisk together the tapioca starch, sorghum flour, millet flour, sugar, yeast and salt, until evenly combined.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the psyllium gel, vinegar, oil and the remaining water. Knead the dough until smooth and it starts coming away from the sides of the bowl, about 5-10 minutes. Make sure that there are no unmixed patches of dry flour.

Making the gluten free dough:

Transfer the bread to a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it&#39;s about ½ inch (about 1.5cm) thick. The exact dimensions of the rolled-out dough aren&#39;t important.

Scatter the roughly chopped olives evenly across the dough and then roll it up, so that all the olives are fully enclosed by the dough.

Give the dough a gentle knead. This will help to get the olives evenly distributed throughout the bread. If any olive pieces fall out of the dough, just press them back in.

Incorporating the olives:

Shape the bread into a ball, then flip it seam side down onto a part of the work surface that isn&#39;t covered in flour and rotate it in place between your palms to seal the seams. For more details about shaping gluten free bread loaves and helpful step-by-step images, check out the Ultimate Gluten Free Artisan-Style Bread blog post!Tip: You can knead the dough until you&#39;re happy with its shape and the smoothness of its surface, just be careful not to incorporate too much extra flour as that can make the final baked bread too dense and dry.

Place the dough into a 7-inch (18cm) round proofing basket that you’ve dusted with some millet flour with the seams facing upwards. Cover with a clean dish towel or a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film and proof in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.Tip 1: If you don&#39;t have a proofing basket, use a similarly sized mixing bowl (about 7-inches/18cm in diameter) and line it with a clean dish towel. Lightly dust the dish towel with some millet flour before placing the bread into it.Tip 2: The exact proofing time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen – if your kitchen is very warm, the bread will rise faster; if it&#39;s on the colder side, the bread will rise slower. The bread needs to approximately double in size/volume before it goes into the oven.

Shaping and proofing the bread:

While the loaf is proofing, pre-heat the oven to 480ºF (250ºC) with a cast iron skillet on the middle oven rack or a Dutch oven/combo cooker on the lower middle rack. If you’re using a skillet, place a baking tray on the bottom rack of the oven.  Tip: If you don&#39;t have a cast iron skillet or a Dutch oven, you can use a large baking sheet instead (you just might get a slightly flatter loaf due to reduced oven spring). In that case, follow the instructions for using the skillet.

The baking set-up:

Once the dough has doubled in volume, turn it out of the proofing basket onto a piece of parchment/baking paper and score the top about ¼-½ inch deep, using a bread lame or sharp knife. Take the hot cast iron skillet or Dutch oven/combo cooker out of the oven and then transfer the bread along with the baking paper into it.

If using a cast iron skillet: place the skillet in the oven, pour hot water into the bottom baking tray, add 3-4 ice cubes around the bread (between the parchment/baking paper and the skillet), and close the oven door.

If using a Dutch oven/combo cooker: add 3-4 ice cubes around the bread (between the baking/greaseproof paper and the walls of the Dutch oven/combo cooker) and close it, then place it into the pre-heated oven.

Bake at 480ºF (250ºC) with steam for 15 minutes – don’t open the Dutch oven or the oven doors during this initial period, as that would allow the steam to escape out of the oven.

After the 15 minutes, remove the bottom tray with water from the oven (for cast iron skillet) or uncover the Dutch oven/combo cooker, reduce the oven temperature to 400ºF (200ºC), and bake for a further 40-45 minutes in a steam-free environment. The final loaf should be of a golden brown colour and weigh about 790g immediately out of the oven (about 14% weight loss).Tip 1: For a crunchier crust, you can bake the bread at a slightly higher oven temperature during this second part of baking, at 425ºF (220ºC) instead of 400ºF (200ºC).Tip 2: Weighing the loaf tells you whether the bread has lost enough moisture to have a beautiful soft, open, non-sticky crumb. I&#39;ve found this to be the most reliable method of determining when gluten free bread is done. Read more about it in my gluten free cookbook!

 Transfer the loaf onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely or at least until lukewarm, before cutting into it.

Scoring and baking the bread:

The gluten free olive bread keeps well in a closed container or wrapped in a clean dish towel in a cool dry place for 3-4 days.For best texture, I recommend toasting it on days 3 and 4.

Storage:

making this for the third time.  I really appreciate the differentiation of powdered psyllium and granular as well as the difference between active yeast and dry yeast.  The first time, I didn't account for this.  Bread came out a bit stodgy.  The second time it came out perfect and the loaf was gone by the end of the meal between 4 persons.  This time, it was all my fault.  I thought I had turned down the temp until I started smelling a burning at 30 min in.  The weight is too much, so I am putting back in for 10 min at 400.  steam was coming out of the score mark, hehe.  The trick is to dry the olives before using them or you have to bake it longer.

100% amazing. This was my first attempt at both bread and GF bread; Holy smokes!  I had to make a few substitutions but stuck to the ones in the recipe, still turned out better than expected.  Thanks for this one Kat, it’s going in the recipe bible

Thank you so much. Also one more query… is it possible to know which kind of millet flour do you use besides sorghum and tapioca flour as there are so many. Is there a specific name?

I have made this bread a number of times and am OBSESSED. I’ve never had such delicious GF bread. I love sharing this with my brother who is also gf and my dairy free friend. My husband who isn’t even gf ASKS me to make it. So nice to actually have a GREAT gf bread recipe. Although I love it with olives, I’ve made it without as well for a more plain bread. Thank you immensely for this wonderful gift! ❤️

Kat, thank you!  Never in 20+ years of being GF did I think I could make bread, let alone an artisan style loaf!  It's fantastic.  It's delicious, it's pretty.  (I may have slightly over-proofed; it was very loose going into the cast iron, but you can't tell on the finished product.) Thank you again for such a delicious, fool-proof recipe!

I made this for my GF child.  Omitted the olives as he doesnt like olives and instead added minced garlic, rosemary, basil and some shredded cheddar cheese.  Magnificent bread!.  My next one which is rising right now, lots of herbs and different cheeses.  Love this bread recipe!

Top 5 olive bread recipes from across the web

The most viewed olive bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Rosemary Olive Sourdough Bread

Homemade Mediterranean Olive Bread

Pioneer Woman Olive Bread

Easy No-Knead Olive Bread

Easy Gluten Free Olive Bread

Top 5 olive bread recipes from across the web

The most viewed olive bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Rosemary Olive Sourdough Bread

Homemade Mediterranean Olive Bread

Pioneer Woman Olive Bread

Easy No-Knead Olive Bread

Easy Gluten Free Olive Bread

The most viewed olive bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine