You are going to love this no-knead olive bread. It is chock full of olives so you can enjoy them in practically every bite. And has a delectably moist interior with a perfectly crisp crust, just like you would find in an artisanal bakery.
The first time I tried out Jim Lahey’s recipe for no-knead bread I was stunned! I couldn’t believe that an inexperienced baker such as myself was able to make bread that delicious and crusty in my home oven. Especially because it was so damn easy! And trust me, if you’ve never made no-knead bread before you’ll have the same experience. It’s like the ultimate gateway recipe for anyone that wants to get into baking their own bread at home.
How to Make No-Knead Bread
If you’ve never made no-knead bread before then you are in for a treat. Because like I already said, it’s super easy!
First off to make any no-knead bread all you need is 4 simple ingredients.
- Flour
- Water
- Yeast
- Salt
That’s it! Though of course for today’s recipe, we will need a fifth ingredient, olives.
Secondly, when it comes to making the dough all you have to do is mix these ingredients in a bowl until combined. You heard that right, you don’t use a fancy stand mixer, just a large bowl, a wooden spoon, and some elbow grease. And as the name implies there’s no kneading involved.
Then once the dough is formed you just have to let it sit on your counter and rise for a couple of hours. Which is completely hands off. So feel free to walk away and do some chores or watch a few episodes of your favorite show while that’s happening.
Lastly, you just have to form and bake the dough. To form it you simply roll the dough in some flour until it is roughly a ball shape. Again nothing fancy, it’s all good if it’s a little uneven. Then you just place this dough in a dutch oven (the only special equipment that you’ll need) and set it into a heated oven to bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
And baking the bread in a dutch oven is really the key here folks. Because as the dough bakes it gives off steam which is captured by the dutch oven. And this steam allows the bread to rise properly resulting in a moist interior and crispy exterior. So don’t make this bread without it!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- What is the best type of flour to use for this bread? Well, I highly recommend that you use bread flour because it has a higher concentration of protein. And this extra protein will give the bread a nice chewy texture that you would expect from a fancy loaf of artisanal bread. That being said you can still use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have on hand. It will still result in an excellent loaf of bread.
- You can use any type of olives that you want for this bread just make sure that they are pitted. However, if you really want to make this bread more flavorful then make some Marinated Olives. You can even add some of the garlic and herbs used in the marinade.
Other Bread Recipes You Might Enjoy
Olive Bread (No Knead) Recipe
Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 50 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf of bread
Ingredients
1½ Cups of tepid water (between 115 and 100℉ or 46 and 37℃)
2¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast, this should be about 1 packet
3 Cups of flour, plus some more for rolling the dough
2 Teaspoons of salt
1 Cup of pitted olives, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Activate the yeast: Add the tepid water and yeast to a medium-sized bowl and stir the two ingredients together.
Let this rest for about 5 to 10 minutes to ensure that the yeast is still alive and usable. You will know this is the case if small bubbles begin to form at the top of the water or it gives off the smell of a brewery. If neither of these things happen then toss out the mixture and try again with another set of water and yeast.
- Form the dough: Get out a large mixing bowl and add the flour, salt, and olives to it. Use a wood spoon, spatula, or your hands to combine these three ingredients together. Then pour in the water/yeast mixture and stir to combine until everything forms a sticky dough.
- Let the dough rise: Leave the dough in the same mixing bowl and cover with either some plastic wrap or a moist clean towel. Let this sit on your kitchen counter for 2 hours or until the dough completely rises and doubles in size.
- Preheat your oven to 450℉, 232℃, and place your dutch oven in your oven so that it gets hot.
- Get the dough ready for baking: Sprinkle some flour on a clean flat surface. Transfer the risen dough to this surface and gently roll the dough in the flour until it roughly forms a ball shape.
Then get out a piece of parchment paper and place the dough in the center of it. At this point, you can score the top of the bread if you want, but it isn’t necessary.
- Bake the olive bread: Carefully remove your hot dutch oven from your regular oven. Then grab the ends of the parchment paper and use it to gently lower the dough into the center of your dutch oven.
Cover it with the lid and place it back into your heated oven. Let this bake undisturbed for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and let the olive bread continue to bake for an additional 10 to 20 minutes or until the top has become golden brown in color.
- Let it rest: Transfer the baked olive bread to wire racks and let the bread rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Slice the no-knead olive bread and enjoy!
Olive Bread (No Knead) Recipe
Equipment
- 4 to 6 Quart sized Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1½ Cups of tepid water between 115 and 100℉ or 46 and 37℃
- 2¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast this should be about 1 packet
- 3 Cups of flour plus some more for rolling the dough
- 2 Teaspoons of salt
- 1 Cup of pitted olives roughly chopped
Instructions
- Activate the yeast: Add the tepid water and yeast to a medium-sized bowl and stir the two ingredients together. Let this rest for about 5 to 10 minutes to ensure that the yeast is still alive and usable. You will know this is the case if small bubbles begin to form at the top of the water and it gives off the smell of a brewery. If this doesn’t happen then toss out the mixture and try again with another set of water and yeast.
- Form the dough: Get out a large mixing bowl and add the flour, salt, and olives to it. Use a wood spoon, spatula, or your hands to combine these three ingredients together. Then pour in the water/yeast mixture and stir to combine until everything forms a sticky dough.
- Let the dough rise: Leave the dough in the same mixing bowl and cover with either some plastic wrap or a moist clean towel. Let this sit on your kitchen counter for 2 hours or until the dough completely rises and doubles in size.
- Preheat your oven to 450℉, 232℃, and place your dutch oven in your oven so that it gets hot.
- Get the dough ready for baking: Sprinkle some flour on a clean flat surface. Transfer the risen dough to this surface and gently roll the dough in the flour until it roughly forms a ball shape. Then get out a piece of parchment paper and place the dough in the center of it. At this point, you can score the top of the bread if you want, but it isn’t necessary.
- Bake the bread: Carefully remove your hot dutch oven from your regular oven. Then grab the ends of the parchment paper and use it to gently lower the dough into the center of your dutch oven. Cover it with a lid and place it back into your heated oven. Let this bake undisturbed for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and let the bread continue to bake for an additional 10 to 20 minutes or until the top has become golden brown in color.
- Let it rest: Transfer the baked bread to wire racks and let the bread rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Slice the no-knead olive bread and enjoy!
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