Pane all'olio d'oliva (Olive Oil Bread) is a traditional Italian recipe for a classic loaf of bread prepared from what is essentially a pizza dough with olive oil. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Italian version of: Olive Oil Bread (Pane all'olio d'oliva).
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This is a really simple loaf essentially made from basic pizza dough. The recipe given here is plain, but you can flavour as you like. Olives work well as does rosemary and/or thyme or oregano (basically think Mediterranean flavours). I’ve also made this successfully with a jar of roasted peppers (just drain, chop and add to the dough at the point indicated in the text).
Ingredients:
7g (1/4 oz) sachet easy-blend yeast or 15g (1/2 oz) fresh yeast
500g (1 1/5 lbs) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
Method:
Tip the flour into a mixing bowl. For easy-blend dried yeast, stir this into the flour. For fresh yeast, crumble it and rub into the flour as you would with butter when making pastry. Add the salt and sugar.
Boil the kettle and measure 100ml (2/5 cup) into a jug. Top up with cold water to the 300ml mark. Test the temperature with your finger — it should feel perfectly hand-hot. Add the oil.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid all at once. Mix quickly using your hands or a wooden fork to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. Wipe the dough around the bowl to pick up any loose flour.
Sprinkle the work surface with flour and tip out the dough. Knead by stretching it away from you, then folding it in half towards you and pushing it away with the heel of your hand. Give it a quarter turn and repeat, developing a rhythm.
When the dough is smooth, put it back into the mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 1 hr (no need to find a warm place). The dough is ready when it springs back when you press it with your finger. (At this stage, you can add other flavourings). At this point you can pop the dough into a large, oiled food bag, with room for rising. Leave overnight in the fridge to rise. Bring back to room temperature, then shape, prove and bake as below.
Tip dough onto a floured surface, knead to remove air bubbles. Shape into a round, place on an oiled baking sheet and slash top with sharp knife. Cover and rise for 30 mins. Heat oven to 240°C (220°C fan/430°F/gas mark 8). Bake for 30-35 mins until browned and crisp.
For part-baked bread, reduce cooking time to 25 mins until pale golden. Cool, then freeze. To bake, defrost, then bake for 15-20 mins until crisp and browned. Or, to freeze cooked bread, wrap the cooled loaf in a freezer wrap or a food bag, excluding as much air as possible and sealing well. Label and freeze for up to 1 month.
If you double the amount of dough you can split in half, cooking one directly and leaving the other in the refrigerator so you have fresh bread for two days.
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