Savory Gruyere Olive Bread Recipes

OLIVE AND CHEESE LOAF

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and yeast; stir in cheese and olives. Add water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until a wet, sticky dough forms, about 30 seconds, adding additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and surface becomes dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours.
• Generously flour work surface; scrape dough onto work surface. Lightly flour hands, a bowl scraper, or a spatula and lift edges of dough toward the center. Nudge and tuck edges of dough to make round.
• Place a piece of parchment paper on work surface and generously dust with flour. Gently place dough on parchment, seam-side down. If dough is tacky, lightly dust top with flour. Cover dough loosely with wax paper and two clean kitchen towels. Let dough stand in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Gently poke dough with your finger; dough should hold the impression. If it springs back, let rise 15 minutes more.
• Ten minutes before dough has finished rising, preheat oven to 475 degrees on a conventional oven (450 degrees on a convection oven) with a rack in the lower third. Place a covered 3 1/2-quart cast-iron or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven (with plastic handle removed and screw hole plugged with aluminum foil) in center of rack.
• Using pot holders, carefully remove preheated Dutch oven from oven and uncover. Uncover bread and loosen bottom with a large spatula. With the aid of the parchment paper, invert bread into preheated Dutch oven so that it is seam-side up. Cover Dutch oven and transfer to oven; bake for 25 minutes.
• Uncover and continue baking until bread is dark brown but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Using a heatproof spatula or pot holders, gently lift bread from Dutch oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• Drain the olives of any brine and then toss them with 2 tablespoons of flour to lightly coat them. Set aside.
• Mix the flour with the baking powder. Add the eggs and, using a wooden spoon, mix into a stiff dough. Stir in the oil and the wine and keep stirring until smooth, or as smooth as you can get it with a couple of minutes of mixing. (You could use a hand held mixer or a stand mixer to do the mixing for you). Stir in the floured olives, the ham, the cheese, and the pepper. You shouldn't need to add salt, because the ham, cheese and olives all contribute enough salty taste.
• Pour the batter into a non-stick 12 inch loaf pan (or a greased Pyrex loaf pan) and bake at 350° for 55 minutes to one hour,or until a tester comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. Allow to cool completely before cutting to insure clean slices. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
• To serve the bread, let it cool completely, then cut it into one inch cubes for bite-sized enjoyment. Delicious and easy.

SAVORY QUICK BREAD WITH CHEESE AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder.
• Add eggs, oil, and wine and mix well. Add olives, red pepper, ham or bacon, cheese, and stir to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. ((keep in mind that the other ingredients are salty, so there is not much need of adding a lot)
• Place the batter into a loaf baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.
• Allow it to cool, remove it from the pan and serve slices of it.

SAVORY GRUYèRE BREAD WITH HAM

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a metal 9 × 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir in the chopped ham, scallions if using, thyme, and 1¾ cups (7 ounces) of the Gruyère (reserving the rest for topping). In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The batter will be thick.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and spread it out evenly, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup (1 ounce) cheese over the top. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes.
• Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely on the wire rack.

SAVORY HAM AND GRUYÈRE BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Center a rack in the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Or, if making mini muffins, position 2 racks in upper third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees. Generously brush a loaf pan or four 12-portion mini muffin pans with butter. 2. In a large bowl, whisk flour with baking powder, salt and pepper. 3. In a medium bowl, lightly whisk eggs, then whisk in milk and olive oil. 4. Using a rubber spatula, fold wet ingredients into dry until barely mixed. Fold in ham and cheese. 5. Scrape batter into loaf pan and smooth top, or using your finger, push a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. 6. Bake loaf until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 40 to 50 minutes. Or bake muffins until golden, about 15 minutes, switching pans between racks halfway through. 7. Transfer to a rack to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge to release. Turn out loaf onto rack to firm up before slicing, about 30 minutes; using a serrated knife, cut into 3/8-inch slices, then cut into halves or quarters. Muffins can be served warm or at room temperature.

SAVOURY OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven at 180°C/350°F.
• Brush a 20x10 cm (8 x 4 inch) loaf tin with olive oil and line with greased greaseproof paper.
• Beat the eggs until frothy and stir in the chopped olives, oil and milk.
• Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together and add the egg mixture, stirring lightly just until the flour is combined; be careful not to over mix.
• Spoon into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour, or until hollow when tapped.
• Leave in the tin for a minute, then turn onto a wire rack to cool.
• Serve sliced with a salad, or make into sandwiches with slices of cheese between.

SAVORY HAM AND GRUYèRE BREAD

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Or, if making mini muffins, position 2 racks in upper third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees. Generously brush a loaf pan or four 12-portion mini muffin pans with butter.
• In a large bowl, whisk flour with baking powder, salt and pepper.
• In a medium bowl, lightly whisk eggs, then whisk in milk and olive oil.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold wet ingredients into dry until barely mixed. Fold in ham and cheese.
• Scrape batter into loaf pan and smooth top, or using your finger, push a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.
• Bake loaf until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 40 to 50 minutes. Or bake muffins until golden, about 15 minutes, switching pans between racks halfway through.
• Transfer to a rack to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge to release. Turn out loaf onto rack to firm up before slicing, about 30 minutes; using a serrated knife, cut into 3/8-inch slices, then cut into halves or quarters. Muffins can be served warm or at room temperature.