Olive Bread - Eliopsomo
- by XpatAthens
- Friday, 20 February 2015
This Greek olive bread recipe is just teeming with the flavours of Greece and the Mediterranean, with the delicious rustic bread, oozing with plump, rich olives, herbs and red onions. This bread is usually made with white flour, and with so many Greek recipes, enriched with a little olive oil. There is nothing like the wonderful aroma of freshly cooked bread wafting from the kitchen to gather everyone around for a tasting. This Eliopsomo - Olive bread recipe has a lovely rich flavour, and the sight and smell of this bread tempts all the senses. Eliopsomo literally means olive bread - Elio - olive, Psomo - bread.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this olive bread recipe instead of normal bread at a Greek meal.
Have as a light lunch with cheese and ham.
Toast it and drizzle extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of freshly ground salt and pepper.
Have it fresh or grilled with slices of fresh, juicy tomatoes and crumbled feta.
Cut thin slices and have with dips.
Include in a meze, with a selection of appetizers, ideal with a drink.
Use good quality, rich oily olives for this olive bread recipe, you will appreciate their flavour in the bread.
Try not to use canned ones, they will not taste as good.
For a variety, use olives marinated in herbs.
Ensure all the olives are pitted before using, you do not want any olive stones in the bread!
Ingredients
1 red onion, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
675g/1 1/2lb / 6 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
25g/1oz fresh yeast OR 2 teaspoons dried yeast
350ml / 12 fl oz /1v 1/2 cups lukewarm water
5 tbspn olive oil
175g / 6 oz/ 1 1/2 cups pitted black olives, roughly chopped
2 tbspn fresh coriander, marjoram or oregano, finely choppped
extra flour for dusting
Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large loaf
Preparation
1. Fry the onion in the olive oil until soft.
2. Remove from pan and put aside till later.
3. Sift the flour and salt into a large Mixing Bowl, and make a well in the centre.
4. If using dried yeast, add to the flour. OR
5. If using fresh yeast, blend it with half the water in a jug and then add to the flour.
6. Add the rest of the water and the olive oil.
7. Mix it all in until a soft dough, using a round bladed knife.
8. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth.
9. Place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
10. Grease 2 Baking Sheets.
11. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times.
12. Roll the dough out into a large circle and sprinkle the olives, herbs and fried onion evenly over the dough.
13. Bring the sides up over to cover the filling and gently knead the bread until the filling is mixed through the dough.
14. Cut the dough in half and shape each half to an oval bread shape.
15. If you prefer to do rolls, just cut into many small round or elongated shapes, or alternatively 1 large loaf.
16. Place each loaf on a baking sheet.
17. Cover with lighly oiled cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.
18. Place 2 or 3 diagonal cuts - about 1 inch / 2cm deep along the top of the bread to create a nice rustic appearance once cooked.
19. Dust the loaves lightly with the flour.
20. Preheat the oven to 220 oC / 425 oF / gas 7
21. Once the loaves have risen, place in a preheated oven.
22. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the loaves are golden color and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
23. Transfer to a wire Cooling Rack and leave to cool.
If you wish to use this olive bread recipe to make rolls, you would reduce the cooking time to about 25 minutes. If you are making 1 large loaf, you would probably need an extra 10 minutes baking time.
Enjoy your olive bread recipe!
To read more, please visit http://www.macheesmo.com/2009/10/olive-bread/ and http://www.macheesmo.com