Herb & Garlic Olive Skillet Bread

I love trying new bread “concoctions” to have with our dinners. Once I figured out I could make bread all sorts of different variations have come to mind. I remember buying a loaf of a black olive bread at a bakery once that was absolutely delicious. I didn’t have any black olives on hand so I tried making a bread with stuffed green olives, garlic and herbs.

The bread has a lot of flavour and is so soft and tasty on the inside. Definitely a bread I will probably make again and again!

Sandie

This is what I used to make the bread.

To start, I added the water, yeast, salt and 1 cup of flour to the bowl of my stand mixer and just whisked it to combine.

Next I added the olives, sugar, garlic powder and herbs and mixed this up.

I added another cup of flour and mixed until it was well blended.

I added the remaining 2 cups of flour to the mix, one at a time, until mixed it and then let the kitchen aid knead the dough for 5 minutes. I ended up with a smooth, elastic dough that I placed in a greased bowl for an hour to rise.

Once risen, I punched down the dough and shaped it before putting it into an 8 inch cast iron skillet that had been brushed with 2 tsp. olive oil.

I let this rise for another 30 minutes before brushing it with the second amount of olive oil and sprinkling it with the second amount of oregano before cutting an “X” in the centre.

I baked it at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the top was fully browned and the bread was cooked through.

I let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before slicing it into nice thick slices to have with dinner!

---

Recipe
Herb & Garlic Olive Skillet Bread

Preparation Time: 1 hour 45 minutes (including rising time) Baking Time: 30 minutes Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 1/2 tsp. yeast
• 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup stuffed green olives, drained
• 1 tbsp. white sugar
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. dill weed
• 1 tsp. basil
• 2 tsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. oregano

Directions

1. In bowl of stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast, salt and 1 cup of flour. Whisk to combine.
2. Add olives, sugar, garlic powder, oregano, dill weed and basil. Mix until well combined.
3. Add another cup of flour, mixing until smooth.
4. One at a time, add last 2 cups of flour, mixing until dough is smooth.
5. Knead for 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
6. Place in greased bowl to rise for 1 hour.
7. Punch dough down.
8. Brush first amount of olive oil into bottom of cast iron skillet.
9. Shape dough into bread shape and place in prepared skillet . Allow to rise an additional 30 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
11. Brush loaf with second amount of olive oil and sprinkle with second amount of oregano.
12. Cut an “X” on top of loaf.
13. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until top of bread is completely brown and bread is fully cooked.
14. Allow to stand 5 minutes to cool before slicing and serving.