Mediterranean Black Olive Bread

Oh, wow, is it next week already? Well, here is the bread I mentioned that goes well with the Mediterranean Veggie Stew. I don’t know if anyone really cares, but a promise is a promise. I also have the recipes I mentioned from my dad. But I downloaded them to our laptop, which then decided to go to school with my husband each day since. I know I’ll get it back eventually. But, now for the bread.

If you have a bread-maker and want to go that route, put the wet ingredients in first:

• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped black olives

Then add the dry on top:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Set the bread-maker according to it’s instructions and enjoy that baking bread smell while you go do other things.

Here are the directions for making the bread if you’re into that sort of thing.

1. In a large bowl, ix together flour, yeast, sugar, salt, black olives, olive oil, and water.
2. Turn out dough onto a floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside and let rise about 45 minutes, until it doubles in size. Punch down. Knead well again, for about 5 to 10 minutes. Let rise for about 30 minutes, until it doubles in size.
3. Round the dough on kneading board. Place upside down in a bowl lined with a lint-free, well floured towel. Let rise until double in size.
4. While the bread is rising for the third time, put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
5. Gently turn loaf onto a sheet pan that has been lightly oiled and dusted with cornmeal.
6. Bake loaf at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake for 30 more minutes, until done.

I found this several years ago on allrecipes.com. Apparently it had been submitted by someone named Holly. Thanks Holly, whoever you are.