Olive-Rosemary Breads

Like many other food bloggers, I love to peruse the photos that make the cut at Tastespotting.  As I was scrolling through recent entries, I saw these Olive and Rosemary Breads posted by Technicolor Kitchen.  I knew this was going on my 'short list' to make soon.  Very soon.  The recipe was a basic bread dough but with the pop of fresh rosemary and chopped kalamata olives.  Admittedly, I spent little time in chopping up the olives - I left them in pretty decent sized chunks.  There's no mistaking their flavor in these rolls.  I also threw caution to the wind when dividing up the dough.  Instead of the 16 rolls the original recipe yielded, I decided to go a little bigger and make just 12.  I used a muffin tin, brushing each well with a little olive oil, then plopped the little balls of dough into each opening.  After their last rising, they were brushed again with olive oil, and then into the oven.  The wafting aroma of bread baking always makes me swoon.  The wafting aroma of this bread baking literally made me salivate.  My thanks to Patricia for being the talented photographer that she is!  I would hate to have missed this one!

Olive-Rosemary Breads


Basic dough:
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 quantity basic dough
generous 1/2 cup black olives
1-1/2 tablespoons rosemary leaves
all purpose flour, for kneading
olive oil, for brushing

Place the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Add the flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding a little extra flour if the dough becomes too sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Brush sixteen 1/2 cup (120ml) capacity pans with oil or cooking spray.

Press down the olives with the palm of your hand to remove the stones, then tear the olives into pieces. Knead the olives and rosemary leaves into the dough on a generously floured surface, incorporating extra flour to compensate for the wetness of the olives. Divide into 16 pieces and roll into balls.  Place in prepared pans, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.  Brush with the oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Makes 16

Patricia's Note:  "These reheat really well."  Good to know!