Eliopsomo — Greek olive bread

Eliopsomo is the bread of the Greek table — crusty outside, soft inside, studded with olives and scented with oregano. Good olive oil goes into the dough and over the crust, giving it flavour and a beautiful, tender crumb.

Ingredients

• 500g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• About 300 ml warm water
• 80 ml Minoiko extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the crust
• 150g Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• A little fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and leave for 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Make a well, pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil, and bring together into a shaggy dough.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled.
4. Knock back the dough and gently work in the olives, spring onions, oregano and herbs, distributing them evenly.
5. Shape into a round or oval loaf, place on a lined baking tray, cover and leave to rise for another 30–40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
6. Brush the top with olive oil, score the surface and bake for 35–40 minutes, until deep golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.
7. Brush the hot crust with a little more olive oil and cool on a rack before slicing.

Tip

The olives are salty, so keep the added salt modest. A final brush of olive oil on the warm crust makes it glossy and fragrant.