Greek Olive and Onion Bread

This is a lovely bread to add to a Mediterranean meze table. Use black or green olives and try it toasted, drizzled with a little olive oil and rubbed with roasted garlic.

Step: 1

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.

Step: 2

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and the onions. Cook and stir for 3 minutes, or until onions are soft. Remove the onions from heat and reserve.

Step: 3

Combine the bread flour, salt, sugar, dill, garlic powder, olives, and cooked onions in a large bowl and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 1 3/4 cup water. Mix well until the ingredients have pulled together and have formed a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Step: 4

Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Step: 5

Lightly grease two baking sheets. Deflate the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a knife to divide the dough into two equal pieces-don’t tear it. Shape into dough into round loaves, and place the loaves into the prepared pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

Step: 6

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Step: 7

Bake loaves in the preheated oven until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing.

Per Serving: 580 calories; protein 16g; carbohydrates 94.7g; fat 14.4g; sodium 993.5mg.

The best flavour of the flour could make a real difference to your bread. Different makers do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are bet higher in gluten, may give you a best rise than standard bread flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal bread , which doesn’t always getting bigger as well as clear bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the menus to your breadmaker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be make in the fridge 24 hours . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great timesaver , as you can work it night before , then finish it off the next day.