Greek Olive Bread Recipes

GREEK OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over water in a large bowl.
• Let stand until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in milk, sugar, salt and 4 t. of the oil.
• Add 1C flour; mix to blend.
• Stir in 1 1/2C more flour and beat until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1/2C more flour to make a stiff dough.
• Turn onto floured surface.
• Knead until dough is smooth and develops small bubbles just under the surface, about 15 minutes.
• Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over.
• Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down and pat into a 1/2-inch circle.
• Sprinkle with olives and cheese.
• Knead and fold lightly into dough, then shape into a ball.
• Pat out to an 8-inch circle.
• Place on greased baking sheet.
• With a 3 to 4 - inch cutter or empty tuna can, cut a circle in center, leaving round of dough in place.
• Brush dough with remaining 2 t. oil.
• Let rise until puffy, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Brush with egg yolk mixture.
• Bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes until crust is a rich golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
• Cool on a rack before slicing.
• Enjoy!

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.

NO-KNEAD, EASY GREEK OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a glass measure and stir in the yeast until it dissolves. Set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a larger bowl, mix the flour and the salt and then add the milk and the yeast, stirring gently with a wooden spoon to incorporate. At this point, the dough will still be sticky - do not add more flour. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook.
• Cover the bowl with a towel, place it in a warm spot and let it rise for an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place a 12" cast iron skillet in the oven until it is very hot.
• Add the extra virgin olive oil, the chopped olives and the oregano to the bread dough and mix well with a spatula, folding over the dough and scrapping the sides of the bowl, until well incorporated.
• Carefully remove from the oven the hot pan, line it with a piece of parchment paper and immediately add the dough, spreading and smoothing the top with a spatula.
• Transfer the hot pan to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until it is golden brown on the top and the bottom.
• Remove from the oven and let the bread cool a bit in the pan. Lift the bread from the parchment paper and lace on a wire rack to cool.

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.

GREEK OLIVE AND ONION BREAD

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and the onions. Cook and stir for 3 minutes, or until onions are soft. Remove the onions from heat and reserve.
• Combine the bread flour, salt, sugar, dill, garlic powder, olives, and cooked onions in a large bowl and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 1 3/4 cup water. Mix well until the ingredients have pulled together and have formed a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Lightly grease two baking sheets. Deflate the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a knife to divide the dough into two equal pieces-don't tear it. Shape into dough into round loaves, and place the loaves into the prepared pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Bake loaves in the preheated oven until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing.