Spelt Bread with Olives

[lord_seagrave]

Having toyed with the idea for a little while, I finally gave bread-making a try yesterday whilst the washing machine did its thing (Lady Seagrave has me well-trained). None of this bread machine business - dough on tray in oven job.

 

Nothing fancy, and the recipe is ripped off more-or-less from the back of the Doves Farm packet, although I've subbed honey for the sugar and decreased the amount of water accordingly. Remember to allow yourself enough time for the dough to prove (rise) twice as well as the actual cooking time, but the satisfaction is worth every minute.

 

Here's what you'll need:-

 

•250g spelt flour (becoming more widely avaiable now - I used Doves Farm wholegrain spelt flour)

•1 teaspoon salt

•1 teaspoon quick yeast

 

•170ml warm water (it may be easier to weigh this [1ml = 1g] - my measuring jug doesn't have fine enough divisions)

•1 tablespoon honey

 

•3 tablespoons strong olive oil

 

•75g pitted black olives (well drained and roughly chopped)

•2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

 

Lightly oil a baking sheet/tray (I use rapeseed oil here to give it a nice crisp finish)

 

Pre-heat the oven to Gas mark 7 or equivalent.

 

Mix the chopped olives and thyme and set aside.

 

In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast and salt together. Dissolve the honey in the water and add to the bowl. Mix the dough thoroughly - it will be a little bit sticky to begin with, but will start to free up from the sides as you mix it. Add the olive oil and knead until smooth and pliable. Cover the bowl (I used cling-film, but a damp tea-towel would be more traditional I suppose) and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Mine took about 40 minutes.

 

On a floured surface, knead the dough briskly for a couple of minutes, flatten it and add half the olive mixture. Fold it up, knead it gently again and then add in the remaining olives. Knead gently, shape it into an oval and plonk it onto the oiled baking sheet. I turned the dough a couple of times on the sheet to give it a very thin coating of rapeseed oil.

 

Cover the dough (damp tea-towel this time) and leave for half an hour in a warm place to rise.

 

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes (mine was ready in 35) and cool on a wire rack. I'm told by those in the know that the bread should sound hollow when cooked right through, though the olives may cause the bread to sound denser than it should.

 

Anyway, serve thickly sliced and spread with soft goat's cheese, a drizzle of oil or use to mop up your minestrone - beautiful!

 

Regards,

 

LS

[pavman]

[sodit]

Spelt bread + olives is great my wifes been making it for a while really tasty with any soup not bad bacon rolls either

[MM]

now this i do like the sound of nice explaination as well

[Highlander]

Watched Jamie Oliver making bread on tv a while back. He made it look so easy I thought I'd have a go. Worked a treat only problem was I ended up with enough of a loaf to feed an army

[SecretFollower]

I'll get my domestic goddess hat on and give that one a try. Sounds delicious.

[malkiserow]

sounds great, I'll print off and give it to the Mrs