This crusty olive bread is perfect for serving at your next dinner party, or alongside a cheese and charcuterie board. It’s sure to impress your guests, and they won’t have any idea how easy it actually is! There’s no kneading or complicated shaping involved, and the vast majority of time is hands-off. This loaf is soft inside with a crispy chewy crust, and includes garlic, oregano, and plenty of salty olives.
Another homemade yeast bread to love!
Don’t let your eyes fool you… the dark speckles in today’s bread are not chocolate chips and raisins. They’re olives! This recipe is based off of my homemade artisan bread, a wonderfully easy and widely popular no-knead bread that’s fit for both beginners and experts.(Note that I bake this bread at a slightly lower oven temperature because the olives can burn.)
A Flavorful Bread Recipe for Beginners
Today’s olive bread basically makes itself, so if you’re nervous to try homemade bread, this recipe is a great introduction. Even though the recipe is easy, the bread does NOT skimp on flavor. It’s just a simple way of baking homemade bread inspired by the no-knead technique originating from bread expert Jim Lahey. Here’s why it’s so simple:
- Only 7 ingredients
- Absolutely no kneading (just like homemade English muffins!)
- Zero complicated shaping
- No mixer required
- 90% of the time is totally hands off
- Can bake in a dutch oven or on a baking sheet
Plus, you can make it in 4 hours or let the dough rest in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (great make-ahead recipe!). Once you realize how easy it is to prepare salty, herby, garlicky olive bread, you’ll find any excuse to bake it.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
Today’s Mediterranean-inspired bread is an egg free baking recipe and dairy free recipe. Here are the ingredients you need:
Best Olives to Use
Kalamata olives are excellent in this bread, but you can use a medley of olives. I’ve made it both ways. Whatever you use, give the olives a rough chop.
Let Me Show You How to Make This Olive Bread
Mix the dry ingredients together and then mix in the chopped olives and water. At first the dough will seem very dry and shaggy and you’ll question if it will even come together. (See above!) Use a spatula at first and then switch to your hands to ensure all of the flour is moistened. The dough is a little sticky after it’s thoroughly mixed.
Let it rise. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about 2–3 hours.
You can immediately continue with step 4 below (gently shaping before baking) or refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days. For best flavor, I strongly recommend refrigerating the risen dough even if it’s just for a couple hours.
After the dough rises and rests in the refrigerator, use generously floured hands to shape the dough into a round boule or ball-like shape:
Now it’s time to choose between a dutch oven or baking sheet. This bread isn’t picky!
Use a Baking Sheet or Dutch Oven
You can use either. Baking the olive bread in a covered dutch oven traps steam inside the pot, creating that perfect crust. If you plan to bake a lot of bread in the future, you won’t regret picking up a dutch oven. If you don’t have a dutch oven, a nonstick large baking sheet is best. Let me explain both ways:
Whichever you use, don’t forget to score the dough with a bread lame or sharp knife. Scoring allows the wet, airy dough to “breathe” as it rises and bakes.
Dutch oven method:
Baking sheet method:
The bread is unbelievable when it’s fresh from the oven—warm, crispy, crusty, and soft inside!
What Can I Serve With This Olive Bread?
Honestly, it’s fantastic plain. But I usually mix together a super easy + flavorful dipping oil: 3 Tablespoons (45ml) extra virgin olive oil and 2 minced cloves of garlic plus a sprinkle each of red pepper flakes, fresh or dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. The bread would also be delicious paired with homemade pesto.
Serve your olive bread alongside a charcuterie or cheese platter, or with any Mediterranean-style fare. I love it with a big Greek salad and have even served it with minestrone soup, pesto shrimp, chicken meatballs, and lemon thyme chicken. (The chicken dish has so much sauce for soaking! Lemon thyme chicken is another excellent option.)
Easy Olive Bread Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, salt, oregano, and garlic powder together. Using a silicone 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’s normal and nothing to worry about.
- Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet (with or without rims and make sure it’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. (“Score” = 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 9×13-inch 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.
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