G20 Olive Bread

Working from home these days during the G20 Summit. It's extremely difficult to work at home because you could get distracted so easily.  While I couldn't get much work done, this little baking project of mine turned out to be a huge success. The recipe is adapted from Williams-Sonoma's "Essentials of Baking":

Ingredients:

3 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

80 ml extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup bread flour

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting the loaf

1/2 tablespoon sea salt

1 cup olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1.  In a bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy.  Add the oil, the flours, and the salt.  Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed.  Add a little flour as needed for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl after a few minutes.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Remove the dough from the bowl.

2.  Sprinkle the olives over the top of the dough and knead them into the dough briefly and gently.  Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and leave the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk.

3.  Punch down the dough and turn it out into a lightly floured work surface.  Knead it briefly and gently to disperse the olives evenly.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes before shaping.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Shape the dough into a tight round loaf.  Cover the loaf loosely with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in size.

4.  Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 450F.  Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour.  Put the pans into the oven and reduce the heat to 425F.  Bake the bread until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30-45 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack and let cool for at least 45 minutes.  

The  bread was so very moist and rich tasting.  It is a great accompaniment to some very thinly-sliced prosciutto, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pâté de foie gras.