Kalamata Bread Recipes

HOMEMADE NO-KNEAD OLIVE BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Mix the dry ingredients; bread flour, active dry yeast, and kosher salt, in a large mixing bowl.
• Pour in 1 ⅓ cups (316 ml.) lukewarm water.
• Give it a mix using a wooden spoon. At this point, the dough needs to be quite sticky. Stir in the chopped olives and ensure that they are equally distributed throughout the batter. (Alternatively, you can use your clean hands to mix and feel the stickiness.)
• Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it sit in a warmer part of your house for 18-24 hours.In my tests, I found that the bread baked after 18 hours of rising time was perfect, but the 24-hour one was also good. One important thing to mention here is that at the end of the rising time you might see a thin (kind of hard - for the lack of a better word) layer at the top of the dough. Don't be alarmed by that. In the next step, we will fold that into the dough and since it is a sticky one, the additional rising time will help soften it.
• Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper, gently remove the dough from the bowl, and place it onto the parchment. While removing, you will realize that it is quite sticky. However, if you take your time and gently pull it by folding it onto itself, you will see that it will come out easily without any dough remaining in the bowl. For a visual, be sure to watch the video below.
• Form the dough into a ball tucking the sides of the dough under. Lightly dust it with a little bit of flour, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size. Again, I recommend letting it sit in a warmer part of your house.
• Towards the end of the rising time, place your dutch oven in the oven and pre-heat it to 450 F degrees.
• When ready to bake, carefully take the now-very hot dutch oven out of the oven. Using the edges of the parchment paper place the dough into the dutch oven. Put the lid on and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and continue to bake another 20-30 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown as you see in the photos.
• At the end of the baking, remove it from the dutch oven, place it onto a cooling rack and let it cool for 30-45 minutes before slicing.

KALAMATA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Place dough on a flat surface and knead in olives and rosemary. Roll dough out to a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Starting from the shorter end, roll up, jellyroll style. Place dough in prepared pan. Brush the top of loaf with olive oil. Bake 15 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown.

KALAMATA OLIVE AND GARLIC BREAD

Steps:

• In a medium bowl dissolve sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. To proof yeast, stir in yeast and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes in a warm place.
• Preheat oven to 105 degree F (40 degrees C). Warm an oven-safe bowl in the oven.
• Place flour in bowl of food processor. Add salt and pulse for a few seconds.
• Start food processor. Pour proofed yeast into flour through hole. Immediately add the additional 3/4 cup warm water, then the olive oil. Process for about 1 minute or until dough ball cleans the sides of the processor bowl. If dough is too wet add a little flour through the top while processing, or if too dry, add a little more water.
• Turn off food processor. Remove lid and transfer dough to the heated bowl. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap.
• Let rise for a half hour in a warm place, like the lukewarm oven.
• In a small bowl, combine minced garlic and chopped olives. Set aside.
• Once dough has risen, transfer dough to a lightly floured board. Make an indentation in the dough and place olive mixture inside. Knead dough 10 times. Bulk of mixture should remain in middle of dough. Form dough into a log or round loaf shape.
• Grease a pie pan (for a round loaf) or a baking sheet (for a log) and dust with cornmeal. Place loaf on prepared pan, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake bread in preheated oven until browned and loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

KALAMATA OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• To create the starter, combine the water and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the flour to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Cover with a cloth and ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• For the dough, combine the water, honey and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the shortening, flour, salt, starter and olives. Mix on low speed until the dough is fully developed. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl. Divide the dough into 2 pieces weighing about 22 ounces each. Set aside any remaining dough and freeze for future use. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough on the counter or in a proofing basket and cover with a warm, damp cloth to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
• Form the dough into loaves and place them on the counter or in a proofing basket. Cover the loaves with a warm, damp cloth and proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Score the loaves with a sharp knife, spray with water, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crusts are a deep golden brown and the middle of the loaves is 190-200 degrees.
• Remove the bread from the oven and place it on the cooling rack for 30 minutes. If the bread was baked in loaf pans, remove the bread from the pans before cooling.