FRENCH OLIVE BREAD

I was planning to post a decadent dessert in observance of Valentine's Day later this week, but I spent yesterday making this French Olive Bread.  I found the recipe in the sweet little book, Confessions of a French Baker, by Peter Mayle.  Recipes for sixteen different breads from Chez Auzet in the Provencal city of Cavaillon, are adapted for the home baker by boulanger/owner Gérard Auzet.

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I parted with a French olive oil I purchased last summer at the market in Malaucene France.  I'm usually extremely selective in how I use an oil such as this, but I knew that divine-tasting oil could only enhance a bread filled with French olives.  I placed the boules onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and after spraying the inside of the oven with water I slid the parchment onto my pre-heated baking stone.  I ended up with beautiful rounds that, once sliced, even the non-olive eater in my family devoured. 

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                                GREEN and BLACK OLIVE BREAD
   from the book Confessions of a French Baker by Peter Mayle and Gérard Auzet

                                                      Makes 2 Loaves
• 1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose King Arthur flour
• 1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached King Arthur bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water (90 - 100˚F)
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) olive oil
• 3/4 cup pitted black olives
• 3/4 cup pitted green oilive
• 2 tablespoons herbes de Provence

1.  Sift the flour and salt together into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Sprinkle the yeast over the contents and mix on medium to low speed, gradually adding the water the olive oil, until the dough comes away from the bowl, about 5 - 10 minutes.  Scatter the olives and the herbs over the dough and continue mixing until they are incorporated.
2.  Remove the dough from the bowl, and set it on the counter to rest for 10 minutes.  Return it to the mixing bowl and place on the mixer so the dough hook plunges into the middle of the dough.  Mix on medium speed until the dough is soft and pliable, about 15 - 20 minutes.
3.  Remove the dough from the mixing bowl to the counter and gather it up in a rough ball.  Bring the full length of your thumbs into the center of the ball so that they meet, and stretch the dough from the center out, as if opening a book, into an oblong shape.  Turn the dough a quarter turn and stretch the dough again the same way, creating a smooth ball.  Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and set it aside in a draft-free place at room temp until the dough doubles in size, about 45 minutes.
4.  Gently remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean surface.  Cut the dough into 2 pieces and shape them into 2 smooth balls again, as you did before the first rise.  On a surface free from drafts, lay a kitchen towel dusted with flour on it.  Place the balls on the towel and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming on the surface.  Leave the loaves to proof at room temp until double in size, 20 - 25 minutes. 
5.  Shape the loaves by first patting down the balls to allow the gasses that have developed to disperse.  Gather up the dough as in step 3.
6.  Place the loaves, seam side down, on the towel dusted with flour and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the loaves rise at room temp for the final time, 35 - 45 minutes, or doubled in size.
7.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450˚F.  Carefully place the loaves onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Brush them with water using a pastry brush.  Using a sharp razor blade, made a lozenge-shaped cut across the surface of each loaf.
8.  Just before placing the baking sheet in the oven, or sliding the parchment onto a baking stone, spray the inside of the oven with water using a spray bottle and close the door immediately.  Put the bread into the oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the bread makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles.  Transfer to a rack to cool.