Olive Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the flours, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and olive oil in a large mixing bowl with a sturdy spoon until a shaggy dough forms, then knead until the dough comes together and becomes smooth, about 4 minutes by hand or machine.
• Form a smooth dough ball. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 15-25 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half and form into two tight dough balls or loaf shapes. You can place the balls or loaves directly on a rimmed baking sheet or in standard-size loaf pans. Press down slightly to flatten them, then dust a teaspoon of flour over each loaf, rubbing with your hands to distribute the flour. Slash the tops of the loaves three times.
• Place the loaves on the middle rack of a cold oven with a pan of hot tap water on the rack below it. Close the oven, set the heat at 400 degrees, and set the timer for 40 minutes. It is imperative that you start this in a cold oven!
• After 40 minutes, remove the bread from the oven and transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Cool the bread completely before removing from the pan and slicing.

EASY 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the warm water, honey, and yeast in a stand-mixer bowl until mixture becomes foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add half the whole wheat flour, olive oil, and salt to the mixture. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until incorporated. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Mix with a dough hook attachment on low speed, slowly adding the remaining whole wheat flour, increasing the speed to high. Mix on high until the batter is combined and not sticking to the sides of the bowl, about 7 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Flour a surface to work the dough.
• Place the dough onto the floured work surface and shape into a loaf. Use more flour if necessary. Place into the prepared loaf pan.
• Let shaped dough sit in a warm place until it has risen over the top of the pan, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until top of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a wire rack. Let cool an additional hour before slicing; otherwise it will feel doughy.

ULTRA-MOIST HEALTHY BANANA BREAD (MADE WITH OLIVE OIL)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to generously grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan. It's OK if some pools at the bottom.
• In a large bowl, mix the remaining olive oil (just under 1/2 cup) with the brown sugar (1/2 cup).
• Add the eggs and mix for about 1 minute.
• Add the bananas (see notes) and mix together.
• Stir in the baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon of each).
• Stir in the whole wheat flour (1/2 cup) and the all-purpose flour (1 cup) until just incorporated and no dry spots remain.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes. It should pop right out if you flip the pan upside-down, but if you need to give it a boost you can run a knife along the sides before flipping it over.
• Cut the banana bread into 10 slices. I recommend serving it warm with salted butter spread on top.

OLIVE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Warm 3 oz of water to 110 F. Dissolve the dry yeast into the water and let it rest for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the water and the whole wheat flour and mix until blend. Add milk and honey. Add bread flour and blend until all the flour is well-moistened and the dough comes together. Add salt and oil and continue kneading until the dough becomes elastic (approximately 12 minutes). Add the olives and knead again for 5 minutes more. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until it doubles it size (approximately 2 hours). Turn the dough out, this time on a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Lightly knead and form the dough into loaves and place on a floured baking sheet or into two oiled loaf pans. Cover again and allow them to rise for an hour more. At this point you can preheat the oven to 400F. When the loaves have risen, make incisions on top with a serrated knife and brush the top with cold water. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the crust is nice brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 180F (I insert a kitchen thermometer in the middle of the bread). I put a bowls with water in the rack below the bread to create steam (good for the crust).