No Knead Greek Olive Bread
THIS RECIPE HAS BEEN REVISED FOR A SHORTER RESTING TIME. Olives are salty so with this recipe, you don’t need as much salt as with other breads. For a softer loaf, use 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups bread flour. Always aerate your flour before measuring. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours
Makes: One loaf
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup bread flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon yeast (instant or active dry)
- 3/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives, patted dry
- 1 1/2 cups cool water
- about 2 Tablespoons extra flour for shaping
Instructions:
- Combine flours, salt, yeast, and olives in a large bowl. Stir in water until it’s well combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours (even longer is fine).
- Dough will become puffy. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Using a scraper, fold dough over 10 - 12 times & shape into a rough ball.
- Place in a parchment-paper lined bowl (not wax paper) and cover with a towel. Let stand on counter top for 1 hour.
- After 25 minutes, place a 5-quart Dutch oven with lid in a cold oven and preheat to 450° F. My oven takes 35 minutes to reach 450.
- When oven reaches 450 (& dough has stood for 1 hour) carefully, using oven gloves, lift the parchment paper and dough from the bowl and place gently into the hot pot. (parchment paper goes in the pot too) Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove lid and parchment paper. Return, uncovered, to oven and bake about 10 more minutes.
Note: No Dutch Oven? Problems with this recipe? Click here.
I always proof my bread in the oven with just the light on.
Works a treat. Also works to soften butter for baking. Just cut it up, pop it in a bowl and place it near the light. Softens without melting.
Thanks for this recipe!
Really love the style of your cooking. Bread has always been hit or miss but your recipes are always a hit. Please upload more style of breads.
This is absolutely the BEST bread! My favorite bakery is a brick oven type but it’s 2 1/2 hours away…this matches their taste and quality! When I started it, I didn’t see the instructions that it needed to raise 8-12 hours and I started it T 4pm. I shaped it into the ball to raise again for the oven at 8am the next day thinking I maybe should have tossed it out. It turned out deliciously chewy and a wonderful flavor! I did use half whole wheat and half bread flour but the next time I’m making as the recipe states! Than you!
I have enjoyed your videos, and just made the olive bread
It was awesome.
Thank You so much.
PS – I would have sent a picture but the family enjoyed it so much, i will have to bake another.
Gordon
Hi Jenny,
Can I leave this out for 24 hrs? It’s Sunday and I work Mondays. I can only make the dough on Sunday and prepare cooking it on Monday afternoon?
Thanks, Patricia
Yes. Should be good and will ferment and improve in flavor too. Once you shape and place on a parchment paper and let it rise one hour then be sure to bake it then.
perfect olive bread. Easy to make. Perfect crust and inside. Just had a lovely rainy Sunday afternoon tea with smoked salmon, hummus, and veggies, a variety of cheeses, and a lovely red pepper sauce. We are in heaven–thanks!!
I am not a baker!
However, I saw you making a chocolate cake on Instagram, read some of your recipes & tonight my husband and I enjoyed your Fastest No Knead Bread with hot ham and white bean soup. He was overjoyed and ate three pieces. I thought the crust was too hard and tough, but otherwise enjoyed it immensely. Tomorrow night he wants olive bread.
Guess my plans for slimming down have been put on hold.
I only ate two slices, but there was a lot of butter involved).
Not sure if you will see this but to avoid a very harsh crust place a slightly damp light weight dish cloth – a thin one, over the top while it is cooling which will leave it soft- not crunchy. How soft depends how long you leave it on.
Thank you or that tip! My crusts have been a bit too hard as well. It can be a real struggle to cut. I will certainly try the lightweight moist dish cloth! Love love this bread and so does everyone I make it for!!!
Do you have a recipe for sour dough?
I just made your Greek olive bread for the first time. It was getting too brown so I took it out 5 minutes early but still too dark on top. Any suggestions for next time? Thanks.
Cook in preheated oven at 400 degrees.
I LOVE KALAMATTA OLIVE BREAD !! when I found this recipe, I was so excited to try it. Soooo, I didn’t have any Whole Wheat flour. I decided, what the heck, So I used 2 1/2 C Bread Flour and 1/2 C Buckwheat flour, which I had on hand, as my husband is GF and Buckwheat in moderation adds to the flavor of GF bread. I figured, worse case scenario would be…it would turn out to be a brick ! Surprisingly, it was very good. I proofed it too long…so it lost its rise..and I have a 6.5 quart Dutch Oven…and I knew it would flatten a bit. This bread is soooo good. I now have Wheat flour…and plan to make this recipe again…and start checking on the risen dough at about 8 hours, 10 etc. I am hoping I will have a taller loaf…even though I have a 6.5 qt oven.
Fermentation is for 10 to 12 hours but proofing is 2 hours. I am wondering why you would proof for 8 hours or longer? That may account for over proofing perhaps?
Hi Jenny
Thank you for this recipe. I made it with whole wheat flour. Excellent.
Hi Jenny,
Love your website. Unable to fine instant or active yeast for a couple of months since Coronavirus; however, made homemade no commercial yeast at home. Can I substitute like 1 teaspoon of your instant or active yeast with same ratio of my homemade no commercial yeast? What is the ratio?
thanks,
Jane
I had a hard time finding yeast also. I bought it on Etsy.com.?
Just made your no knead bread with fresh yeast. It was all I could find for weeks. I just dissolved it in the hot water before adding to the dry. Came out great.
Do i have to use wheat flour for olive bread?
Hi,
When it’s time to take the bread out of the oven, where should it be left to cool? A rack, breadboard, in the Dutch oven, or? Many thanks.
Remove bread from Dutch oven and cool on rack. I usually cool it for an hour before I allow anybody to cut into it.
Thank you!
That’s a problem at my house…we only lasted 20 minutes! 😳
Why did the crust turn out so hard to chew? Is it possible it was cooked too long or too high a temperature..I did follow instructions…
Hi Judy,
If you baked in dutch oven, it steams the bread, creating a crisp crust–just the nature of the process. If you bake without the dutch oven, either in a loaf pan or on a parchment lined sheet pan, you will not get as crisp of a crust.
Hi
Can I use sharp cheese instead of olives? Is it okay to let the dough with the cheese sit out for 12 hours as it rises
do you have suggestions for adding dried friuts and or pecans fo a no knead dense bread. Thanks
Please see my No Knead Fruit & Nut Bread.
Looking for a no knead artisan bread recipe with pecans and raisons or dried cranberries. Did not want to fool around with your other no kneads, which I make very frequently..Any thoughts??
Hi Jenny, I discovered you accidentally on YouTube when I saw your Dutch oven no knead bread recipe! I’ve never made bread from scratch and was excited to try this. It was amazing and after that I started making your other recipes one after another. I love cooking and baking and your recipes have inspired me even more. They’re healthy and easy! I’m now making your olive bread, can’t wait to try. I wish I discovered you earlier. I’ve told all my friends and family about you. Thank you so much and keep those wonderful recipes coming! ?
This was an awesome recipe! Much easier than my Greek mother’s way. the only addition I made was to add finely chopped white onions and a touch of mint leaves to it. Came out amazing – great with butter fresh out of the oven or cold with cream cheese!
Hi Andri when did you add the onions and mint? With all the ingredients in the beginning or just before putting in the oven?
Thank you very much!
Hi Jenny,
The olive bread was perfect. Wonderful favor. Next time I make it I plan to use green olives.
Thank you.
Hi, I was wondering the best way to store this type of bread. It takes us a few days to eat a loaf.
I store mine in foil, never plastic, and refrigerate it after the 2nd day.
I have NEVER made bread. It just looked like too much work…even with a food processor. That has to be washed too. OUCH!!! WATCH OUT FOR THOSE BLADES!!! These breads were really easy to make. Now it is in the regular routine…with beggars at the door just waiting. The neighbors can smell the wafting aroma from their homes.
Thank you so much, Jenny. I will continue using your recipes. YUM!!!
Hi Jenny,
I have a 3.5 quart pumpkin shaped dutch oven. Will this recipe fit in it?
Yes, it will fit.
Jenny, can I just use multigrain bread blend flour instead of whole wheat & all purpose flour. Will it change anything?
I have never done that so you will have to try. Without all purpose flour, it might be a little too dense.
Hi Jenny
I have a renewed purpose in life (i’m 78) my breads are the talk of the town!!
Can’t stop baking.
Used your method and came up with my own concoction of Rye bread with black olives and sundried tomatoes. Lovely!!!
THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING. I HAVE NEVER MADE RYE BREAD BUT WITH OLIVES AND SUN DRIED TOMATOES WHO WOULDN’T
I am thinking of forming two loaves and baking in my long clay baker. Any changes…baking time perhaps.
I have only made this loaf in my Dutch oven so I can’t help.
I did it and it was great
Can you make this using just all purpose flour?
Yes, and with just all purpose flour, you can also use the faster hot water method.
Question: If I wanted to add some cheddar cheese to the top, or any other cheese for that matter – at what point should I add the cheese?
I think cheese on the top would burn because the oven is so hot unless you do it at the very last minute and keep a good eye on it.