Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Bread

Bread is probably my absolute favorite food in the whole world. I LOVE bread. ALL kinds of breads too. Bread, after all, is the food of life and has been almost since the beginning of time. Today, there are endless possibilities of types of bread from which to choose. Too many breads, not nearly enough time. 🙂

Breads of some sort have been around since at least 8000-10,000 BC, specifically coming from the Middle East and Egypt. But there is also evidence that has been found, dating bread back even further, to about 14,000 BC. Bread was eaten and enjoyed by everyone, from the Pharaohs down to the peasants. At first breads were unleavened, or flat. The fermentation process was discovered when someone accidently left dough out in the sun, and it rose. And leavened breads were born. Breads, both leavened and unleavened, have been revered all over the world ever since. According to World of Statistics, the 10 countries that are at the top of bread consumption per capita per year are Turkey (199.6 kg), Serbia (135 kg), Bulgaria (131.1 kg), Ukraine (88 kg ), Cyprus (74 kg), Argentina (72 kg), Portugal (70 kg), Poland (70 kg), Denmark (70 kg) and Greece (70 kg).

Here are some fun facts about bread that I bet you didn’t know.

1. Bread was often left at the tombs of the dead.
2. The ancient Greeks were already producing more than 80 types of bread in 2500 B.C.
3. Bread was so important to the Egyptian way of life that it was used as a type of currency.
4. Bakers were powerful credit brokers during the Middle Ages in France.

My latest bread baking adventure was the making of some delicious, rustic sun-dried tomato and olive bread. YUM!!!! We ate the better part of one the loaves the other night, with our turkey soup. Turkey Soup I still have another loaf left, that will most probably be enjoyed with dinner tonight. 🙂

I knew what kind of bread I wanted to make, but all of my recipes were asking for a starter, and since I started the bread making process later than I had intended, I didn’t have time to make a starter too. At last, I found just the recipe I was looking for, without a starter, and that was the bread I made. In the future, I will make a starter and then make the bread. I want to do a comparative study to see which one is better, or if there are any significant differences between the two styles of bread making for this recipe.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Bread

You want this dough to be a soft dough, so just use a scant amount of flour, and don’t over knead or process it.

4 scant cups flour, + extra for dusting

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 scant TBSP olive oil

2 1/2 tsp dry active yeast, or one package

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

1 cup olives of your choice – I like to mix my olives

2 cups chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Combine the flour, salt, yeast and olive oil together, then slowly add the water. Work it all in until the dough becomes pliable. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes, then shape into a round ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the rounded dough into the prepared bowl. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.

I followed the recipe and the instructions and added the the sun-dried tomatoes and olives before the second rise. However, I prefer the idea of adding them with all the other ingredients and letting the dough rise with them, on the first rise. Suit yourself, and do it how it works best for you. I find the dough easier to work with by adding them to the initial rising process. Either way you decide to work the olives and sun-dried tomatoes into the dough, work them into the dough until they are fully incorporated.

If you add the sun-dried tomatoes and olives before the first rise, then punch the dough down after about an hour and divide it into two. Shape each portion into a round ball.

Place the dough on the prepared pans, cut a cross into each dough rough and sprinkle with a little flour. Cover and let rise again for about another hour. If you add them at the beginning of the second rise, you are doing the same thing. You are just eliminating an extra step, that I find is really unnecessary.

Preheat the oven to 425* F or 220*C.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let the bread cool for about 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy! This bread is SOOOOO good served warm, with melted butter, or dipped in a flavored olive oil. You can’t go wrong with this Heavenly bread, no matter how you slice it. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.