Olive Bread with Mint & Onions
Submitted by kirk
Rustic Mediterranean olive bread with dried mint, chopped onion, and black olives baked into a round loaf. Made with a sponge starter for deep, complex flavor.
YIELD
1 loafPREP
4 hrsCOOK
50 minREADY
4 hrsThis olive bread starts with a sponge, a loose pre-ferment of yeast, water, and flour that rests for 1 to 6 hours before the main dough comes together. That sponge is what gives the bread its complex, slightly tangy flavor and open, airy crumb. Skipping it and mixing everything at once would give you a perfectly fine loaf, but not this loaf.
The flavor combination is Mediterranean through and through. Halved black olives, chopped onion, and dried mint are kneaded directly into the dough. The mint is the unexpected player here. It adds an herbal freshness that lifts the briny olives and sweet onion into something more interesting than a standard olive bread.
Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is resilient and bounces back when poked. The olives will try to tear through the surface during kneading. Don’t worry about it. They’ll settle in.
Shape into a large round, set it on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, and let it rise until doubled. The two-stage bake starts high to set the crust, then drops for a longer finish that bakes the center through without burning the outside. Brush with olive oil right out of the oven for a glossy, fragrant crust.
Pro Tips
- Let the sponge rest at least 1 hour for noticeable flavor improvement. Six hours gives the best results.
- Add flour gradually during kneading. Too much too fast makes a dense, tight loaf.
- Baking tiles or a pizza stone give the best bottom crust. Preheat them for 30 minutes.
- Brush with olive oil immediately after removing from the oven while the crust is still hot and porous.
Variations
- Use kalamata olives instead of black olives for a more intense, briny flavor.
- Add a tablespoon of fresh rosemary in place of the mint for a more classic Italian profile.
- Swap half the white flour for more whole wheat for a heartier, nuttier bread.
Ingredients
Directions
Makes 1 large round loaf .
Make a sponge by dissolving the yeast and sugar in the warm water and stirring in the whole wheat flour and 1½ cups of the white flour.
Beat at least 50 strokes, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand anywhere from 1 to 6 hours.
Stir all but a teaspoon of the olive oil into the dough, as well as the salt, the chopped onion, dried mint, and olives.
Then work in remaining white flour until it becomes hard to stir.
Turn the dough out onto a floured working surface and let rest while you clean out the bowl.
Knead dough for about 8 to 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is resilient.
Lightly oil the bowl, return the dough to it, turning to coat, and cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise until double in volume - about 1½ hours.
Turn the dough out, punch it down, and form into a large round loaf.
Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal.
Cover loosely with a towel and let rise again until double - about 45 minutes.
(Or let raise and bake in La Cloche.)
If you have baking tiles in your oven, be sure they are good and hot by preheating the oven to 425℉ (220℃) during the last 30 minutes of the final rising.
Slip the loaf onto the tiles (if you’re not using them, simply put the baking sheet in the preheated oven) and bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350℉ (180℃) and bake another 35 minutes.
Brush with the remaining olive oil and let cool on rack.
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