Ingredients
4 c. bread flour
1 1/2 c. rye flour (Hodgson Mills is what I had on hand)
1 1/4 c. warmed olive brine - the juice leftover from a jar of some kind of green olives
about 2 oz cake yeast dissolved in 1/4 c. warm water
4 T olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz. of kalamata olives, chopped
Mixing and Method
Mix all but the olives using your favorite bread baking method to make a firm dough. Add the chopped olives during the kneading so they are well-distributed, adding a little flour if necessary. It might be necessary also to taste for salt, as the amount might need to be adjusted depending on the strength of the brine. Let rise in an oiled, lidded tub until doubled. My dough was a purplish-grey due to to the color of the olives. Divide and shape into 2 oval loaves. (These were set to proof in my oval baskets lined with floured linen towels and covered with same.)
Preheat two small roasting pans with their lids in a 450F oven as loaves rise for 30 minutes. Slash and carefully place in hot roasters; cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Results
Yield: 3# of dough which I divided into one loaf weighing 1# 12 oz and the other at 1# 4 oz. (I always like to bake Debbie a loaf that is at least 1 3/4#, so she always gets the bigger loaf. Also, if I am experimenting, which I was with this, I like to taste the results, even if it means baking up a 3oz roll to do so.)
The loaf looked very nice; texture, crust, etc., were fine. However, perhaps it was this particular choice of olives, but I wasn't crazy about the overall flavor. I can't put my finger on it, but this is not a bread that would work for a good piece of toast for breakfast, and it's as though it has too much flavor and so competes with sandwich fillings. I think it is best put to use with a schmear of cream cheese on it, but otherwise, I am not likely to repeat this one as listed here. I think I will keep the olive brine for adding interest to rye or pumpernickel loaves and skip the olives. I still might try a loaf using oil cured olives at some point, since they are more like olive raisins and would add a different note than the Kalamata. Maybe that will be my next variation.
The loaf looked very nice; texture, crust, etc., were fine. However, perhaps it was this particular choice of olives, but I wasn't crazy about the overall flavor. I can't put my finger on it, but this is not a bread that would work for a good piece of toast for breakfast, and it's as though it has too much flavor and so competes with sandwich fillings. I think it is best put to use with a schmear of cream cheese on it, but otherwise, I am not likely to repeat this one as listed here. I think I will keep the olive brine for adding interest to rye or pumpernickel loaves and skip the olives. I still might try a loaf using oil cured olives at some point, since they are more like olive raisins and would add a different note than the Kalamata. Maybe that will be my next variation.
So is Debbie your egg lady or bread lady? I am confused.
ReplyDeleteUh-oh! My mistake! Thanks for the heads up. Corrected. BTW, there will be a lot of starter posts coming up soon. Had some fun with rye and pumpernickel in the past week.
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