Friday, August 28, 2009

Whole Wheat Olive Flat Bread - Focaccia alle Olive


Photo by i,max - Creative Commons License





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This wonderful olive bread comes from Judy Francini's new book, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen. I won the book in a random drawing held by the folks at the Foodie Blogroll and it has since become the gift that keeps on giving. The bread is easy to make, requires no special equipment and uses ingredients that are available in any well-stocked grocery store. I used kalamata olives for my bread but any ripe, brine cured olive could be used. The beautiful blue olives at the top of the page come from an evergreen tree that's native to the Mediterranean, Asia and parts of Africa. It is short and squat with a gnarled, twisted trunk and leaves that are a silvery green. These trees bare small white flowers and fruit that slowly ripens from green to the rich purple color we associate with black olives. The olives, rosemary and whole wheat flour used in this bread give it enormous flavor. I love to serve it with a hearty soup and salad. It is best served warm with a dipping sauce of olive oil and black pepper. While the bread stales quickly, leftovers can be frozen and reheated. This is a great recipe for beginners and seasoned pros. I hope you'll try it. It will not disappoint.

Whole Wheat Olive Flat Bread
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite and Judy Francini

Ingredients:
2-1/4 teaspoons dried yeast
2-1/2 cups water, divided use
2-1/2 cup unbleached flour
2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup black olives + olives for garnish, patted dry
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary + rosemary for garnish
Olive oil
Sea salt or other coarse salt for garnish

Directions:
1) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water.
2) Mix unbleached and whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Whisk in salt. Add dissolved yeast. Stir in 1-1/2 to 2 cups reserved water, adding enough to form a firm dough.
3) Turn dough onto a lightly floured board; knead for a few minutes, adding flour if dough is very sticky. Let rest 10 minutes. Resume kneading until a smooth dough is formed.
4) Place in a greased bowl; cover and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead in olives and rosemary. Roll out dough and press into a 9 x 12-inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until double in height, about 45 minutes.
5) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush dough with olive oil. Lightly pat olives and rosemary into surface of dough. Sprinkle with sea salt. If desired, make indentations in dough with finger tips. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm. Yield: 1 (9 x 12 X 2-inch) flat bread.

This post is being linked to the following sites:

Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday

Smiling Sally - Blue Monday

Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting

Nick - imafoodblog BBD # 23

47 comments :

Lyndas recipe box said...

This is a tasty looking bread, Mary.Wish I had some for a bedtime snack! I've got the oil, just need the bread.

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Great bread. Your pictures have me mesmerized!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Mary it's beautiful! This bread is just stunning.

Southerncook said...

Oh Mary, this looks soooooo good. Thanks for sharing. Will try this very soon.

Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

Esi said...

What a gorgeous loaf. I love focaccia.

Parita said...

Focaccia looks wonderful!

Poppedijne said...

Your pictures are so inviting that for that alone I would visit your blog. The focaccia looks ready to bite in to!

surfingtheworldcuisine said...

Looks really delicious!!! I love homemade bread!!!

susan said...

Mary, For some reason I have always avoided recipes with yeast (an early bad experience, I think) You are inspiring me to give yeast another chance in my kitchen :)

Chandy said...

Good morning and thank you for sharing that wonderful bread! I don't eat olives but that sounds good.

Anonymous said...

This bread looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Claudia said...

What a wonderful book to win! I am definitely trying this and I suspect it will disappear as soon as my family learns about it! Mouth-watering photos. Tempted back into baking.

Cathy said...

Now that I have a little more bread baking confidence I'l going to give this a try. I can imagine how wonderful this facaccia smells while its baking and the olives make it perfect.

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

I've been trying to avoid carbs lately but this bread may lead me astray ;) It looks soooo good! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

~Susan

Gaby said...

ok yum!!!! I love home made bread!

Dee said...

i am 100% trying this recipe this weekend.

i LOVE olives, and rosemary sounds like a prefect touch!

though, that bread doesnt look so flat :p

is it possible to roll it out so that i comes out more like a foccicia ? or is that a totally different kind of recipe ?

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Beautiful bread Mary! Your foccacia looks like it has a lot of depth and body to it. The kalamata olive really put it over the top.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Dee, if you divide the dough into 2 parts and roll each to a 9x 12-inch rectangle you'll have a flat bread. You'd have to watch cooking time though.

Bama Belle said...

Oh I want that right now! Fabulous!! I am now a follower. HOOKED completely! Thanks for coming by my place today!

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

How inviting this looks. It's lunch time here and a bite of this would certainly tastes mighty good...hugs ~lynne~

Debra from Bungalow said...

Hi and Thanks for visiting my blog.

The pictures you have here are wonderful..... Just mouth watering and the recipes are making me want to cook something!

Kathleen said...

I like foccacia...
Beautiful pic, Mary..

Katy ~ said...

Focaccia is a favorite here though I have not had good success in making it from scratch. Your picture is so beautiful that I want this all to myself.

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

Oh My! Your food is always soooo pretty! I wish I could do that.

Alea Milham said...

I will have to make this for my husband. He absolutely loves olives.

Miss Red said...

just found your blog - YUM! love it =)

Lisa said...

This sounds so tasty! Nothing beats kalamata olives and rosemary in a flatbread. I have to try it.

Nicole Feliciano said...

glorious and perfect for light and easy meals outdoors. maybe with my tomato salad...

Jenny in Maine said...

Mary, the Olive bread looks absolutely delicious, and I have to tell you that your photography is absolutely gorgeous!!!

I will definetly be returning to your gorgeous blog often.

Hugs,
Jenny

My Little Space said...

Hmmm...mm...such a gorgeous looking foccacia!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Such a pretty bread--such great photos and styling too.

Maggie said...

What fabulous looking bread, I can just taste it.
Thanks for sharing the recipe and for taking the time to visit me in Normandy.
a bientot
Maggie @ Normandy Life

Chef Fresco said...

Beautiful focaccia!

Sarah said...

Yummy! Love fresh bread with butter!

Happily Retired Gal said...

Oh my ... you DO know how to make something look utterly tantalizing!!! I can almost SMELL this wonderful flat bread now ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

bj said...

OOO, this is a most beautiful bread. I can just almost taste it, dripping in oil and pepper. You do come up with the most delicious sounding recipes, Mary, dear. And, alas...I never seem to have the ingredients to make it "on the spot"!

SmilingSally said...

Mary, that's interesting bread. I don't see blue; I guess what's showing up purple on my screen is what you meant for Blue Monday. Have a good day.

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Mmmm, love fresh bread! Wonderful pictures of your loaf. Happy Blue Monday.

Blessings,
Sandi

Regina said...

Wow. It looks so good.

Becky K. said...

It looks totally yummy to me!

Becky K.
Hospitality Lane

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hello Mary...

Ooooh...this olive flat bread looks absolutely delicious and I think it sounds wonderful with a hot steaming bowl of soup! I'd love to try the recipe...thank you so much for including it! Aren't those blue olives gorgeous!!!

Warmest wishes,
Chari

Unknown said...

I buy olive flat bread whenever I get the chance from a particular bakery that I just love....your version looks beautiful. Could I move in with you? I hope you will join me for Crock Pot Wednesdays at Diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. My "blue" this week is part of a tribute to Julia Child. Hope to see you signed up with Mister Linky.

NKP said...

What a fantastic combination. My favourite things - bread and salt!
I love kalamata olives, so wonderful that they are all through the bread. I have P.R.'s whole wheat focaccia dough resting in the fridge right now.
Congratulations on your book win!

Susan/Wild Yeast said...

This flatbread is not so flat... and I love it that way! I also love the 50% whole wheat flour in this.

Mimi said...

What a nice tall focaccia that recipe made. It looks really tasty!

Sara said...

That is a fluffy flatbread, that is just how I like my focaccia. The olives with the whole wheat sounds fab. Thanks for joining us for this month's BBD!

Laura said...

Looks amazing! Great pictures. And now I want to take a look at that cookbook . . .

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