ITALIAN OLIVE BREAD
Baked in partnership with Mina Single Origin Extra Virgin Olive Oil, our fluffy olive bread is a riff on Pane Toscano. Since Tuscany is famous for its olives, we thought, “Why not throw in mixed olives for good measure?” Their brininess pairs perfectly with the richness and fruity notes of Mina olive oil.
Ingredients
- 9 g dry active yeast 2 ¼ tsp
- 295 mL warm water no hotter than 110° F (1 ¼ cups)
- 19 g organic granulated sugar 1 ½ Tbsp
- 8 g salt ½ Tbsp
- 59 mL Mina olive oil ¼ cup
- 600 g flour 5 cups + additional 60 g (½ cup) set aside for kneading, plus more for dusting.
- 120 g mixed olives preferably Mina olives pitted and roughly chopped (1 cup)
- 80 g mixed olives pitted and sliced (⅔ cup)
Instructions
- Whisk yeast into warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer, and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add Mina olive oil, sugar, salt, 600 g flour and olives, and mix until dough comes together and pulls away from the bowl. If needed, add reserved 60 g flour, 2 tablespoon at a time. Then knead until dough meets the windowpane test, 7-10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour.
- Flour your work surface. Punch down dough, dust it with flour, then divide into two equal portions. Pat one piece into a rectangle, then roll it out to 8x12 inches. Loosely roll the dough lengthwise, pressing to seal the seam and ends closed. Repeat with remaining dough piece.
- Place loaves seam-side down on a lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Press the tops of the loaves lightly to flatten. Press sliced olives into the tops of the loaves, dust with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400° F.
- Bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
- Use a food scale! Weigh your ingredients out on a food scale for best results. This advice applies to all bread bread baking. If cooking is an art form, baking is more of a science. To give you an example, say you measure out one cup of flour by volume with a measuring cup. The amount of flour you measure out can vary by as much as 25%, depending on how you pack your measuring cup. This can mean the difference between light-as-air bread and dense loaves.
- Stand mixer optional. You can still bake our Italian Olive Bread if you don't have a stand mixer! Kneading by hand will take a few more minutes, around 12-15 minutes.
- Meet the windowpane test: Whether you knead your dough in a stand mixer or by hand, the windowpane test will determine whether it's properly kneaded. Grip a small portion of the dough and stretch it into a square. Continue stretching it until it becomes a thin, unbroken film (i.e. a windowpane) in the middle that allows light to pass through. If you can stretch the dough in this manner without it breaking, then the gluten is well developed, your dough is properly kneaded, and it ready to rise.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!