Cheesy Olive Loaf
Olives belong in bread. And sometimes bread should be the meal. So I added olives to my cheesy bread loaf and upped the fats. This fat and gluten balloon is a celebration of my move back to America. Freedom. Liberty. Calories.
This is a variation of the Cheesy Bread Loaf.
What I Changed
Replaced half the water with milk. The cheesy loaf uses 300g of water. I swapped half the water for milk. Milk adds fat and a touch of sweetness to the crumb and makes it more rich and filling.
Replaced sugar for brown sugar. Small swap mostly for color but a bit of sweetness will play well with cheese and olives.
Green olives. About half a cup, sliced, and mixed while integrating the flour. Olives bring salt and brine and I was hoping it would stand up to and add some bite to the richness of the milk and butter.
Recipe
- 500g white bread flour
- 150g water
- 150g milk (swapped for half the water)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- Cheddar cheese (however much you want)
- 1/2 cup green olives, chopped (new)
- 3 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar (swapped for white)
The Process
Mix milk, water, butter, and brown sugar until dissolved. Add yeast and wait until proofed. Add salt and stir. Add half the flour and beat until you get a thick mud. Add olive oil and olives, mix until integrated. Add the rest of the flour and knead lightly into a dough ball. Lightly knead until formed but do not press too hard as we don’t want to macerate the olives. Instead, once combined and the dough is smooth, we’re going to stretch and fold every 30 minutes for 2 hours.
Knock out the gas. Roll out into an oblong oval. Distribute cheddar evenly across the surface. Roll into a tube from one end, then cut lengthwise down the center. Braid the two halves together with the cheesy-olive side facing up. Place in a loaf pan — loaf will not go through a second rise.
Bake at 350F for 50 minutes. Pull it out, put it on a rack, and leave it alone for a couple of hours.