Greek Olive Bread
This recipe is of our good friend Vasilis Fountoulakis. He is a Cretan and he knows about good olive oil and olives.
Ingredients
- 25 ml Olea EVOO
- 240 gr all purpose flour
- 160 gr unbleached bread flour
- 90 gr Olea Green Cracked (Tsakistes) Olives
- 100 gr whole wheat flour
- 90 gr Olea Kalamon (Kalamata) Olives
- 280 ml water (at 95oF)
- yeast mix - 300 gr all purpose flour, 200 gr unbleached bread flour, 500 ml water, 1/8 teaspoon yeast
- 20 g Olea sea salt
- 3/4 tsp yeast
- 2 teaspoons Olea Greek seasoning (BBQ mix)
Instructions
- Prepare the yeast mix 12 hrs before you want to start the process for the bread (image 1).
- Cut the olives and remove the pit (image 2).
- In a large bowl mix the yeast mix, flours, yeast, hot water, work it slowly and leave it at room temperature for half hour (image 3).
- After half hour add the salt, olive oil and work it really well (image 4).
- Leave at room temperature for half hour, and then add the olives, herbs and work the mix really well (image 5).
- Leave the mix at room temperature for enough time, so that it triples its volume (around 2 to 3 hours). Every half hour fold it once (image 6).
- Split mix in half and put them in proofing (banneton) baskets, cover them with a towel and leave them at room temperature for one hour (image 7).
- Warm up the oven at 500oF, with cast iron dutch ovens in it for at least 20 minutes (image 8).
- Cover the inside of the dutch oven with all purpose flour and and the bread mix in (image 9).
- Bake at 450oF for 20 minutes with the lid on and 20 minutes without the lid (image 10).
- Best way to enjoy the bread is with olive oil (image 11).