I love the salty, briny punch that olives add to this easy, crusty, no-knead bread. It feels a bit special, perfect for a dinner party, but it’s easy enough to just make for any time. No-knead bread only needs a thorough stir, rather than a lot of vigorous kneading, and then a slow rise, to form a lovely dough that’s very easy to work with and form into a rustic, country loaf.
There are a couple options for the rise, a slower one in the fridge for a bit more flavour development, and a somewhat quicker, countertop rise for when you need a loaf today. Either way will taste great. You can also customize this in a few other ways: add a bulb of roasted garlic cloves, a few sprigs of rosemary, thyme, a few chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes or a couple of teaspoons of chili flakes.
I like to eat this bread dipped in oil and vinegar with some herbs, smeared with a bit of goat cheese or spread with butter.
olive no-knead bread
adapted from The Kitchn
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 ½ cups mixed olives of your choice, pitted
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110° F)
a couple sprigs rosemary leaves, or the add ins of your choice
Combine flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl). Stir olives and rosemary through. Add water, mixing well to bring everything together into a sticky dough using a dough hook or a wooden spoon.
Short rise: Cover the dough and let it rise on the counter top for 6-8 hours, or until doubled in size and bubbly on the surface. Turn the dough out onto a floured piece of parchment paper and shape into a ball by folding the dough underneath itself, pinching the bottom where the folds come together. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 - 1 ½ hours until doubled in size again.
Long rise: Cover the dough and let it rise in the fridge for about 24 hours. Remove from the fridge and rise on the counter for 2 - 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size from the original dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured piece of parchment paper and shape into a ball by folding the dough underneath itself, pinching the bottom where the folds come together. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 - 1 ½ hours until doubled in size again.
When the dough is nearly ready with about 30 minutes left to rise, turn on the oven to 450° F. Place a large dutch oven with its lid inside to heat up.
When dough is ready, score the top with a very sharp knife, scissors or a razor. Carefully transfer the dough, using the parchment as a sling, into the hot dutch oven and put the lid on. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes more. When done the bread should be deeply golden brown, crusty and the bread’s internal temperature should be 210°F.