GREEK OLIVE AND ONION BREAD

Greek Olive and Onion Bread image

This is a lovely bread to add to a Mediterranean meze table. Use black or green olives and try it toasted, drizzled with a little olive oil and rubbed with roasted garlic.

Provided by healthyfoodie

Categories Bread Yeast Bread Recipes White Bread Recipes

Time 3h5m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 11

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Ingredients

2 (.25 ounce) packages rapid rise yeast
½ cup warm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large red onions, diced
7 cups bread flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon white sugar
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1 ¾ cups warm water

Steps:

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and the onions. Cook and stir for 3 minutes, or until onions are soft. Remove the onions from heat and reserve.
Combine the bread flour, salt, sugar, dill, garlic powder, olives, and cooked onions in a large bowl and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 1 3/4 cup water. Mix well until the ingredients have pulled together and have formed a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Lightly grease two baking sheets. Deflate the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a knife to divide the dough into two equal pieces-don't tear it. Shape into dough into round loaves, and place the loaves into the prepared pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Bake loaves in the preheated oven until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 579.8 calories, Carbohydrate 94.7 g, Fat 14.4 g, Fiber 4.2 g, Protein 16 g, SaturatedFat 1.9 g, Sodium 993.5 mg, Sugar 2.2 g