I found this very simple olive bread recipe from watching My Greek Oddysey – ok this show which documents Australian Greek, Peter Manias navigating the Greek islands in his super yacht got me through the long months of dingy English weather and working from home! Considering the superyacht part, he seems a down to earth guy who is really enthusiastic and passionate about his homeland so he has my vote 🙂 The lovely, cuddly chef Kyriako throws this bread together very easily, and apart from the fact it has to rise a few times, its really easy to make but a word of caution – its very, very moreish and needs to be put out of sight or you will eat the lot! It is vegan and pretty cheap so can become part of your store cupboard staples. This recipe is not light and fluffy but they digest well and can be stored in the freezer for when you have guests.

Ingredients
1 x kg of Very Strong Organic Bread Flour
1 x tsp sugar
20gr fast action yeast
1 x tsp salt
1 x tsp dried oregano (Greek of course!)
200ml Olive Oil
500 ml water
1/1/2 x cup of pitted black olives

Method
Set your oven to 180 degrees.
In a bowl de-pit your olives. I used soft olives and pinched them until the stone came out. Set aside.
In a food processor with a dough hook, add in the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, oregano, olive oil, and water. Turn on the food processor and combine the ingredients together until they are forming a ball of dough. Stop the machine and now add in the olives and turn the machine back on until the olives are combined throughout the dough (don’t overwork the mixture or it will become tough).
Now using your hands, form the dough into a ball, gently knead so that it becomes smooth. Now leave somewhere warm to rise for 20 minutes.
Cut into 2 pieces if making a loaf or into small size balls for rolls (I tend to make rolls and freeze the remainder). Whatever you decide, shape the dough, place it on a greased-proof baking tray, and leave for another 10 minutes to rise again.
After 10 minutes place the rolls or bread in the oven. I cooked mine for around 20-25 minutes – they will be brown and produce a nice sound when you tap on their bottoms! For a loaf test after about 30 – 35 minutes, when the loaf is brown and looks cooked.
This bread is delicious still warm with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, and a cup of coffee!
I then had it for breakfast for the next 7 days straight!