MAKES 2 LOAVES
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix the dough by hand following the instructions. If you don’t have a baking stone, bake the bread on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet set on the lower-middle oven rack. Almost any variety of brined or oil-cured olives works in this recipe, although we prefer a mix of both green and black olives. See the sidebars that follow the recipe.
|
1¾ |
cups water, room temperature |
|
2 |
tablespoons honey |
|
2 |
teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast |
|
3½ |
cups (19¼ ounces) bread flour, plus extra as needed |
|
½ |
cup (2¾ ounces) whole-wheat flour |
|
2 |
teaspoons salt |
|
2 |
tablespoons minced fresh rosemary |
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1½ |
cups pitted olives, rinsed, and chopped coarse |
1. Whisk water, honey, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add bread flour and whole-wheat flour to bowl and mix on low speed until cohesive dough is formed, about 3 minutes; cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
2. Make well in center of dough and add salt and rosemary. Knead dough on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping down bowl and dough hook as needed. Increase speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 1 minute. If dough is very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons bread flour and continue mixing for 1 minute. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and press into 12 by 6-inch rectangle, with long side facing you. Press olives evenly into dough, then roll dough toward you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Turn loaf seam side up and roll cylinder into coil. Transfer dough, spiral side up, to large, lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until it increases in size by 50 percent, about 1 hour.
3. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with vegetable oil spray. Fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl again; fold once more. Cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic, and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, being careful not to deflate. Divide dough in half, loosely shape each piece into ball, and let rest for 15 minutes. Flip each ball over and, starting from top, roll dough toward you into firm oval shape. Using your palms, roll each oval (seam side down) from center outward until 12-inch loaf is formed. Poke any olives that fall off into bottom seam, then pinch seam closed. Transfer each loaf, seam side down, to 12 by 6-inch piece of parchment and cover with plastic. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours. (Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.)
5. One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Slide parchment with loaves onto pizza peel. Using sharp serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, make one 3½-inch-deep slash on diagonal along top of each fully risen loaf, starting and stopping about 1 inch from ends. Spray loaves with water and slide loaves and parchment onto baking stone. Bake for 15 minutes, spraying loaves with water twice more during first 5 minutes of baking time. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown and loaves register 210 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer loaves to wire rack, discard parchment, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before slicing and serving. (Bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrapped with additional layer of aluminum foil, bread can be frozen for up to 1 month. To recrisp crust, thaw bread at room temperature, if frozen, and place unwrapped bread in 450-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes.)