Authentic Greek Olive Bread Recipes

GREEK OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl stir 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt together.
• Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the 2 tablespoons olive oil and the water.
• Stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
• Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle a work surface with flour.
• Scrape dough out onto the floured surface.
• Dust the top of the dough with flour.
• Knead until the dough is smooth and develops small bubbles just under the surface, about 5 minutes, adding more flour if the dough gets sticky.
• Place in a clean, greased bowl, turning to grease all over.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and pat it into a ½ inch thick circle.
• Sprinkle with the olives and cheese.
• Knead the dough lightly to incorporate the ingredients, then shape into a ball.
• Pat out to make a circle 8 inches in diameter.
• Place on a greased baking sheet.
• With a 3-inch round cutter, cut a circle in the center but leave the round of dough in place.
• (You can bake the removed center alongside the bread; it will probably cook faster than the circular loaf.) Brush the dough with the 2 teaspoons of oil.
• Cover and let rise until puffy, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is a rich golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
• Cool the bread on a wire rack before slicing.
• Makes 1 round loaf.
• Beatrice Ojakangas Baking Book.

GREEK OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 4 tablespoons oil, sugar, salt and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Sprinkle with cheese and olives; fold and knead lightly until combined. Shape into an 8-in. round loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Brush with remaining oil. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes., With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across top of loaf. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool.

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.

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.