No-Knead Walnut Olive Artisan Bread

Is there anything that feels more like home than the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven? I just love a good savory loaf to accompany a weekend lunch or dinner and this easy, no-knead olive bread is one of my favorites!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups warm water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

3 cups flour  + ½ tsp sea salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)

1 cup olives, pitted, dried and chopped

 1 cup @yumtee_nuts walnut halves and pieces

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Add the yeast to the water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until the yeast starts to foam. While the yeast is proofing, stir together flour and salt (and oregano if using) in a large mixing bowl. 

Make a well and add water and yeast together with the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix together just until combined. The dough should look a little sticky and stringy and there should still be a little flour around the edges of the bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit somewhere warm for 8-24 hours.

When you’re ready to bake your bread, preheat the oven to 450° with a covered baking dish inside the oven (*see notes). At this point, the dough should be puffy and have risen to almost level (or higher) with the top of the bowl.

While the oven is preheating, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Adding more flour as needed, gently fold the dough into itself several times just until a flour-covered ball is formed. Transfer dough to parchment and let it sit until the oven is pre-heated (~20 minutes).

Remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer the dough, still on the parchment, into the dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 15-20 minutes more. Your bread will be done once the top is browned.

Baking dish: Either a Dutch oven or a 2.5 litre glass covered casserole dish may be used for this recipe.

Flour: I like to use a hard wheat unbleached bread flour to get a good crusty, chewy loaf. Hard wheat or ‘strong’ flour is made from hard wheat kernels and is a little more dense and higher in protein than other flours. This recipe also works well with other bread flours.

Olive: Don’t skip drying the olives! This is easily done by laying them out between two paper towels or wrapped in a dry kitchen towel.

Seasoning: Looking to add more seasoning? I’ve also made this loaf with 2 teaspoons mashed roasted garlic. Try adding 1 tsp dried oregano! 

It’s finished baking when: Lastly, if you feel your oven temperature is unreliable you can also tell your bread is fully baked once it has pulled away from the sides of the baking dish and it sounds hollow when you knock on the top.

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