Olive and Walnut Boule Bread

Baking bread gives me a kick. Maybe I get high off the aroma. But I also like my bread easy peasy after I work a 9 hour shift. Hey, I’m not Super Woman!…

This bread is delish. That’s really all that needs to be said.

My favorite part about this dough is that it is very make-ahead-able. (I think I just made up my own word there.) You can take some out when you feel like it, let it rise for about 30-40 minutes while you prep dinner, and stick it in the oven. In about 1 hour you’ll have fresh bread on the table. You could also use a big 6 slice toaster oven to bake one loaf at a time. Just make sure after 10 minutes you put a foil tent over the loaf to prevent excessive browning (aka burning).

Springy dough full of happy yeast organisms munching on sucrose and multiplying exponentially.. Yes, I was a geeky science major, can you tell?

Flatten the dough and spread olives or walnuts on top. Roll them up like a happy dumpling so the walnuts/olives become stuffed in the middle of the loaf. You can also sprinkle some extra on top. (Warning: please only sprinkle olives on top. Walnuts end up on the burnt side.)

Olive and Walnut Boule Bread
adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 TB active dry yeast
1 1/2 TB salt
1 1/2 TB sugar
6 1/2 cups bread flour, about
1/4 cup chopped olives or walnuts per loaf (this recipe makes 4 loaves)

Combine the water, yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer using a paddle beater attachment. When everything is well mixed, switch the paddle attachment for the dough hook. Add the flour in 2-3 batches, and mix well. Stop mixing just when all the flour is incorporated. Transfer the sticky dough to a big container (bigger than your mixer bowl). It should be about 3 times bigger than your amount of dough. Let it rise in a warm area for 2 hours.

At this point you can either bake your bread now or refrigerate your dough for up to 2 weeks and bake on demand. The dough will be easier to handle if it is chilled for at least 2 hours.

Divide the dough into 4 parts and sprinkle 1/4 of olives or walnuts on top for each dough piece. Gather it up into a ball with the olives/walnuts in the inside. Form into nice smooth round balls and place them on a baking sheet sprayed with baking spray. Let rise, uncovered, for 20 minutes (if your dough has been refrigerated, it should rise for 40 minutes instead). Preheat your oven to 450F about 15 minutes before the bread is done rising.  Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes. The temperature should register at least 190F but not more than 200F or you won’t end up with a nice custardy inside which is the best part! Any lower than 190F will give you a mouth full of dough.

Let the loaves cool before consuming. Make sure you have butter, jam, and cheese handy. Heeding this warning is optional. Usually 5 minutes is the maximum time I wait.
Naughty, naughty…