Olive Oil Bread

4.95 from 73 votes

This olive oil bread is easy to make. You'll feel like an artisan baker. From the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

rising45

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Servings: loaves

Calories: 1547kcal

Author: Cynthia

Ingredients

2 3/4 C. lukewarm water (105 degrees F.)
1½ Tbsp yeast or about 1½ packets
1½ Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil (2 ounces)
6½ C. unbleached all-purpose (52 ounces)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the warm water into a big 5 or 6 qt. container.
Mix in the flour, use a spoon or a food processor to incorporate all the flour.
Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest on your counter for around 2 hours. It will rise and then collapse. Now, just stick it in the refrigerator,covered, until you're ready to use it. The dough will be pretty soft and sticky looking as this point.
When you're ready to bake, grab a hunk of dough, (you determine how much, depending on what you're planning on making) add enough flour to the dough so that it's not sticky and form into a ball. I am making a basic "boule" or ball shaped loaf.
Let it rest for about 45 min. on a pizza peel or baking sheet covered with cornmeal. The cornmeal helps the loaf slide easily off the peel and on to the stone in the oven.
Don't worry if it hasn't risen as much as you think it should, it rises more in the oven.
Heat pizza stone for 20 minute at 450*. Place an empty broiler tray on another shelf.
Dust top of loaf with flour and slash a pattern into the top.
Transfer loaf to pizza stone and add a cup of hot water to a pan on the rack below.
This will make a lot of steam and give the loaf a crusty exterior. Bake for 30 minutes or until nicely browned and firm to the touch. It should sound hollow when you thump your finger on the bottom.

Nutrition