French Bread With Kalamata Olives And Thyme Recipes

FRENCH BREAD WITH KALAMATA OLIVES AND THYME

Steps:

• Bring milk to simmer in small saucepan. Add butter and sugar; stir until butter melts. Pour mixture into large bowl. Add 1 cup room-temperature water and cool mixture until lukewarm (85°F to 95°F), about 10 minutes. Add yeast; stir to blend. Stir in olives, thyme and salt. Add 1 cup flour. Using wood spoon, stir until flour is incorporated. Add 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir vigorously with wood spoon until incorporated after each addition. If necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour until dough is smooth and begins to pull away from sides of bowl. Oil large bowl. Transfer dough to bowl; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. For do-ahead version: Chill dough overnight. For same-day version: Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes (do not punch down dough).
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 500°F. Oil large baking sheet. Turn dough out onto floured work surface (to avoid deflating, do not punch down dough and do not knead dough). Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Gently form (do not knead) each piece into baguette 15 inches long by 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches wide (dough will not be smooth). Transfer baguettes to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes for refrigerated dough and 15 minutes for room-temperature dough.
• Brush top of each loaf lightly with egg white. Generously spray inside of oven with water (about 8 sprays); immediately place loaves in oven. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and continue to bake until loaves are deep golden and sound hollow when tapped, about 35 minutes. Cool on rack.

OLIVE AND THYME BREAD

Steps:

• ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT: 1 1/4 cups basic bread sponge (from my basic bread sponge recipe).
• Can use any fleshy black olive in place of Kalamatas.
• In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Allow to proof for three minutes.
• Stir the sponge into the water, breaking the sponge up using your hands or a spoon.
• Add 3 1/4 cups of the flour and salt and mix, scraping and folding until the dough gathers into a single mass. Mix in the olives and thyme until distributed. This dough will be wet and sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead as much of the 1/3 cup of flour as is required to make a smooth and elastic dough.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Halve the dough and shape each piece into a ball and place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic. Allow to rise in a draft-free location for two hours.
• Turn out each piece of the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press out any large bubbles. Shape each half into a loose oval. Transfer each of the ovals into a 9x5 loaf pan, with the seam on the bottom. Cover again with plastic and allow to double in bulk, which should take 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven for at least thirty minutes along with a baking stone or tiles on the middle rack to 425. Place a baking pan with decent sides on the bottom shelf. Boil two cups of water. Place the loaf pans on the stones and then immediately pour the boiling water into the baking pan.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until the loaves are hollow sounding when removed from the pans and tapped on the bottom. Take the loaves out of the pans and cool on a 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.

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.

HERBED KALAMATA OLIVES

Steps:

• In a dry small heavy skillet toast seeds over moderate heat, shaking skillet, until fragrant, about 1 minute, and cool. With a mortar and pestle or with bottom of a heavy skillet coarsely crush seeds. Drain olives and thinly slice lemon. With flat side of a large knife lightly bruise thyme and in a bowl stir together all ingredients. Marinate olives, covered and chilled, at least 3 days and up to 1 week. Bring olives to room temperature, about 15 minutes, before serving.