This holiday season, let’s not forget about olives! (Also, scroll down to the bottom of this post for a fun giveaway.)
(This post is sponsored by my friends at Mezzetta, but my love for their olives is all my own! ❤️)
Okay, let’s get all of your “Olivia likes olives” jokes out of the way. Ready? Go!
Good! Now we can move forward and talk about this delicious Mediterranean Black Olive Bread, because I’ve been OBSESSED with it. As in, “I’ve made this bread twice in the past 7 days” obsessed!
Seriously, who buys bread from the supermarket when you can make this at home? (Actually, me! I buy a lot of bread… But that doesn’t help my case, does it?)
And before you start freaking out at the slightest idea of baking homemade bread, let me throw some words your way:
- Easy!
- Only 5 ingredients.
- No knead (You haven’t been to the gym in months and don’t have the muscles to knead bread? Don’t worry, me neither!)
- Made with the aid of your standing mixer. (You can definitely do it by hand, no muscles necessary, but let me be lazy and make my Kitchen Aid work a little.)
- No special tools other than a dutch oven.
I don’t know about you, but the smell of baking bread coming out of the oven is one of my favorite smells in the whole world, along with the smell of freshly laundered clothes and freshly brewed coffee.
Plus the olives take it up a notch making the whole apartment smell like pure heaven! mmmmmm ??? It invokes all sorts of feelings deep inside me, like coziness, happiness and love. ❤️
Call me a hippie, but baking someone homemade bread is the ultimate love gesture, don’t you think? Maybe it’s the sharing nature that is inherent to every loaf of bread – after all, who eats a whole loaf of bread by themselves? (Answer: me!?) – or maybe it’s the passion that goes into the baking itself, because nobody bakes bread because they have to (unless they are a professional baker).
Not to mention people think you are a genius when they taste homemade bread. And it turns out that all you did was mix 5 ingredients in a bowl, walked away for 10 hours, came back to put the bread in the oven and the oven did all the rest of the work! And now people think you’re some sort of Ina Garten? I’ll take it!
And because of all that, I think the holiday season is the best time to make bread. It doesn’t matter if it’s because you are having neighbors for a cup of coffee in the afternoon or to serve at your Thanksgiving or Christmas feast, a loaf of crusty homemade olive bread just makes people feel like they are special.
I’m sure that by now you’ve noticed how much I love Mezzetta products, after all they’ve appeared on this blog a handful of times.
Mezzetta sources the finest fresh produce from the sun-drenched soils of California, Italy, Spain, France, and Greece and prepares them according to Italian family recipes at its state-of-the-art production facility in the Napa Valley. No wonder they are the leading producer of glass-packed peppers, olives, and specialty foods in the United States.
Whether you are looking for a quick healthy snack or gourmet ingredients for your favorite dishes—reach for a jar of Mezzetta specialty foods at your local grocery store and see the difference a little love of food can make.
I know it makes a whole lot of difference in this black olive bread!
What makes this bread so incredible is the fact that a virtually foolproof recipe produces a fine-bakery quality loaf. I really think bakers were holding on to this secret for ages (probably hidden with the Da Vinci code in the Vatican, or something!) so they could keep their jobs!
The only challenge here is the patience to wait for the long, slow fermentation, which is critical for a light, flavorful loaf with an enviable, crackling crust. But it’s so worth it, you gotta believe me!
Seriously, make this! Make this NOW! It will blow your mind. And maybe you’ll love it so much that a Mediterranean black olive bread will be your new holiday tradition!
Oh, and before I forget: (Who am I kidding? I would never forget something as cool as this!)
To make your holidays even more memorable, Mezzetta is hosting The Holiday Memories Sweepstakes, where you can win some pretty amazing prizes, like:
- Grand Prize (1) – Instant Print Digital Camera plus a Ultimate Olive Lover’s Gift Basket including Mezzetta Olives, Olive Spoon, Cutting Board, Olive Bowl, Cocktail Napkins and Recipe Card.
- Runner Up Prizes (10) – Ultimate Olive Lover’s Gift Basket including Mezzetta Olives, Olive Spoon, Cutting Board, Olive Bowl, Cocktail Napkins and Recipe Card.
Click HERE to enter! Good luck!
And happy bread baking! ? Leaving the dough rest for a long time will improve flavor and texture, as you'll give the yeast time to do both the leavening and kneading for you. However, if you're in a hurry, just use a whole package of yeast and you can cut down the first rising time to about 6 hours.
Mediterranean Black Olive Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
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Christine | Mid-Life Croissant says
November 24, 2015 at 7:37 amI love this bread, Olivia! I love olives and I love Mezzetta. Have you tried their Castelvetrano olives? Heaven!
Olivia says
November 24, 2015 at 11:43 pmThanks, Christine! :) I love all their olives. They are all so delicious!
Anna says
January 7, 2017 at 11:33 amWould I need to oil the dutch oven so the dough won’t stick? My brain tells me I’ll be sorry I did all of this work If I don’t.
Renee says
January 25, 2017 at 8:52 pmno, crust will b too hard.. I put down a round piece of oarchment
Mike says
February 2, 2017 at 7:41 pmNo shape the loaf on parchment paper and when the Dutch oven is preheated just transfer the paper with the loaf on it to the Dutch oven, works great
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
November 24, 2015 at 9:20 amBaking bread is totally my happy place. There is something very therapeutic in the whole process.. but, don’t get me wrong, I still love to bake breads that don’t require the “whole process”! This bread is fabulous, Olivia! My hubs is an olive freak so he for sure would love this! Mezzetta olives are the jam, and I can just imagine how Yumm they are in this easy peasy, carba-licious loaf! SO good! Cheers, my dear and happy early Thanksgiving! <3
Olivia says
November 24, 2015 at 11:42 pmI agree! Baking bread is my happy place too! :) Thanks so much for your kind words, darling! And happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Mel@avirtualvegan.com says
November 28, 2015 at 1:29 amThat wouldn’t last two minutes in my house at the moment. My son is going through a growth spurt and eating like it’s going out of fashion. I’m sure he has hollow legs. He loves olives so would devour at least half of this loaf before I managed to have a slice!
Isn’t no knead bread magic?
Regina Elena Mesquita says
December 2, 2015 at 12:31 pmThat’s kind of bread that I can eat all alone! I love bread and olives also, so this is a kind of perfect match for every hour of the day
tali says
January 12, 2016 at 10:11 amCan you make this in a regular oven and not a dutch oven? What is the benefit of using a dutch oven?
Chelsea says
November 11, 2016 at 12:33 pmYour pictures look awesome but I got a completely different texture for some reason. The dough was really sticky, but I followed the recipe exactly. What did I do wrong?
Olivia says
November 11, 2016 at 1:40 pmOh no, Chelsea! I’m sorry to hear that. Do you mean the final bread is sticky? If that’s the case, maybe you should bake it longer? Tt depends on the weather, the humidity, maybe even the type of flour you’re using. Now, if you mean the dough, this dough is stickier than a knead dough. If you’re having difficulty handling it – since the no-knead bread is so loose and sticky – some people find that it’s easier to work with it if you refrigerate the dough for at least an hour beforehand. You could also make the dough one day, refrigerate it overnight, and then add the olives and bake the bread the next day. It might even improve the flavor! I hope this helps. You can always shoot me an email at oliviascuisine@gmail.com and we can try to troubleshoot further. :)
Briana says
December 13, 2016 at 7:26 pmI also got the really sticky result. I wondered where Chelsea lives? I’m in Key West, FL, so definitely it’s humid here. If humidity is the issue, should I maybe have covered with a cloth while rising?
renee says
January 25, 2017 at 8:48 pmadd a little more flour. I have been making a bread similar to this for a year. I got it off of sbcanning website . its called 4 ingredient bread. made a little different but so dang good. I now sell it to my friends who love it. give it a try. good luck
Jen says
April 14, 2017 at 12:19 pmI ended up making this in my roaster since I don’t own a Dutch oven. It turned out great! Looked exactly like the picture. Will make again for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Dusan says
July 18, 2017 at 4:09 pmThis recipe was easy to follow and the bread has perfect texture and flavor. I’m trying hard not to eat half of the loaf! Thank you!
Jenn says
August 8, 2017 at 2:07 pmI am excited to make this recipe.
What kind of bread flour do you use? Will the recipe/texture be different if I used whole wheat bread flour? Thank you.
Olivia says
August 30, 2017 at 6:23 pmHi Jenn, I use bread flour. I never tried with whole wheat but you can certainly try. You might need to adjust the ingredients. :)
Sarena says
August 16, 2017 at 11:57 amHi Olivia!
I made this recipe at home and it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped.
I’m not sure if it was the flour I used because it was a bread making type but when the bread had cooked mine looked more like a whole wheat type of bread. It was my first time making bread do you have any tips for a bread making newbie? :) Thank you!
Olivia says
August 30, 2017 at 6:19 pmOh no, Sarena! I’m sorry to hear that. What was wrong with it? Maybe I can help you troubleshoot. Bread baking is a labor of love, for sure, and will get better with practice. :)
Amanda says
November 8, 2017 at 9:39 amThis bread recipe is exactly what I’m looking for and looks delicious! But if I don’t have a Dutch oven is there anything that can be done instead?
Barbara says
December 27, 2017 at 7:35 pmOlivia ,
What altitude are you baking at? I live at 7800 ft and am learning how to adjust bread recipes for my altitude. Recent honey oat came out perfect after knowing what adjustments to make.
Thank you
Olivia says
December 30, 2017 at 12:32 pmWe’re pretty much at sea level. 33′ according to Mr Google! ;-)
KiethB says
July 4, 2018 at 9:02 pmMade this today. Quite good. I was wondering if you had any ideas on a spread that might go good on this. Yes, it is good enough to eat bare… but can’t help but think it would be amazing with something on it too.
Olivia says
July 13, 2018 at 10:17 pmHmm, I think it would go great with caponata! Or maybe an onion dip? Oh I’m getting hungry just imagining the options! 😂
Kieth Michael Biasillo says
July 6, 2018 at 11:23 pmMind Blown! wow. Restaurant quality bread so easy! I am a home cook, not a chef… so I really enjoy finding and making other peoples creations… and I look for the best of the best. This is without a doubt, a winner. I have been making 5 minute bread for a few years now and this is by far the best one. …from 10 hours in, sneaking whiffs of the intoxicating fermentation… I cannot tell you how excited I was to get this baking! I would not even consider changing a thing for this version… After it was done, I let it cool… I thought the first day it was fresh, moist, spongy and very tasty. I kept this on my counter, on a bread board loosely covering the cut side with foil, with a bread knife and a bottle of olive oil. Over the course of a couple days the crust dried only slightly, the exposed part did not at all. The texture transformed to a slightly chewier, more firm crumb. Thank you for sharing.
Olivia says
July 13, 2018 at 10:11 pmThanks so much for the feedback! This bread is a favorite here and I’m glad you enjoyed it. :)
Joelle says
July 9, 2018 at 4:56 pmHi there, I want to make this bread this coming weekend, I have a couple of questions, i don’t have a Dutch oven, what can I bake the bread in? Hope I can still make this , I own a small brevile toaster over which is great and things come out amazing, so how do I make this?
Olivia says
July 13, 2018 at 10:08 pmHi Joelle, for this kind of bread you would need an ovenproof pot (that resists high temperatures) with a lid. I’ve always baked in a Dutch oven, but I know some people use clay pots. I hope that helps! :)
Joelle says
July 21, 2018 at 3:10 pmThank you! It does help! I am preparing the dough for my third bread! I love it and as a weight watchers person it is also healthy and low in points, I do have one more question, I proof the yeast as you say with warm water, but as far as I know yeast need sugar usually to be proofed, just wonder how come we do it with only water?
Marie says
August 24, 2018 at 4:33 pmCan this bread be frozen for future use?
Leo says
September 17, 2018 at 6:49 amOlivia, great recipe! I have a question. Can the olives be tossed into the mixture at the beginning or is it important that they are folded into the dough just before baking?
Thanks,
Leo
Shane says
January 4, 2019 at 3:23 pmHave made this several times always comes out perfect. I would like to make more than one loaf at a time. Do you have any suggestions?
Or just double the recipe?
Thanks,
Shane
Olivia says
January 6, 2019 at 10:09 amHi Shane, yes I would double the recipe and divide into two loaves! :)
George says
January 6, 2019 at 5:54 pmAmazing Bread. I altered mine a bit by using both black and Spanish Green Olives.
Perfect and delicious.
Thank You
Kristen says
January 19, 2019 at 8:57 pmI found it just a tad too salty and I like salty. Perhaps it was the olives I used that just pushed it over..? I’d make this again but with only half the salt. I also used the whole packet of yeast and let it rise in a warmed oven so that cut down on rising time significantly. The bread was very light, not dense at all.
micah says
February 25, 2019 at 3:45 pmHello,
The bread looks great, and I hope to make it soon.
Do you have the recipe in metric? I have trained myself to use weight instead of volume, and I would really appreciate having the recipe in grams.
Thank you.