Olive and pesto bread


Olive and pesto bread
This bread with olives and pesto has a very Italian flavour: a ciabatta dough, herbes de Provence and green olives.

The loaf is baked in a tin, with a thin layer of pesto spread in the middle between two pieces of dough, and green olives (with stones removed) pressed into the top.
84 K 4.0/5 (24 reviews)
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Last modified on: October 24th 2017
For 1 loaves, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 30 min.
Resting: 2 hours 50 min.
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 3 hours 60 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 5 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 1
Put into a food-mixer bowl: 250 g plain white flour (French Type 65), 175 g water, 25 g olive oil, 4.5 g salt, 3.5 g yeast, 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence and 75 g Soured dough (if possible).

Stage 2 - 10 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 2
Knead on slow speed for 10 minutes.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.

Stage 3 - 1 hour 30 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 3
Gather the dough into a bowl and transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rest for 1 to 2 hours.

Stage 4 - 20 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 4
After resting, weigh out the dough into 4 identical pieces (if you are making 2 loaves, that is).

Roll the dough into balls, cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Stage 5 - 3 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 5
After resting, take the first ball of dough and roll out into a circle the diameter of your tin or mould (I am using a 10 inch / 26 cm spring-form tin here).

Stage 6 - 1 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 6
Place this circle of dough in the tin.

Stage 7 - 5 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 7
Spread half of the 100 g pesto over the dough with a spoon.

Do not take the pesto too close to the edge, but leave about 1/2 an inch (1 cm) bare (as in the photo).

Moisten this edge with a brush dipped in water to help stick the layers of dough together.

Stage 8 - 3 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 8
Lay the second circle of dough on top and press down lightly to seal around the edge.

Stage 9 - 1 hour
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 9
Push the stoned green olives into dough, all over the top.

Repeat steps 5 to 9 for the second loaf.

Cover them with a plastic sheet and leave to rest for 1 hour.

Stage 10 - 40 min.
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 10
Preheat the oven to 460°F (240°C).

Brush the tops of the loaves with a little olive oil, then bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Stage 11
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 11
Turn out while hot.

Stage 12
Olive and pesto bread : Stage 12
However you serve the bread (cut into portions, like a cake, or in small squares...), arrange the pieces to show off the pesto in the centre.
Remarks
You can use black olives instead of green, if you prefer (do remove the stones from these, too).

Another possible version: use tapenade instead of the pesto.
Keeping: Several days, preferably in a cloth bag.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe100 RDI=40 %270 RDI=30 %320 RDI=50 %2,110 RDI=110 %8,830 RDI: 110 %
Per 100 g10 RDI=5 %40 RDI=4 %50 RDI=7 %310 RDI=20 %1,310 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Gluten, leaven, milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 1 loaves : 5.25 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
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