Reviewed: Jan. 20, 2009

Delicious bread! I took others advice on lowering the oven temp. I used spicy black and green marinated olives from whole foods olive bar - gave the bread a little extra kick.

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JENNCC

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Reviewed: Jan. 10, 2009

This was SOOO good, I'm practically salivating at the memory of this recipe! It disappeared when I made it! Gone in two days

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lillaurabean

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Winlock, Washington, USA

Living In: Tacoma, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 9, 2009

Outstanding flavor and texture! My husband loved it and so did I! Will definitely make again, although it is a recipe that takes a while to make. Good for a snowy Sunday at home. All in all, loved it! loved it!

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AuntJamelle

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: South Bend, Indiana, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 6, 2009

Easy and adaptable, I've substituted chopped jalapenos with cheddar and spinach and green onions for the olives and they all came out beautifully.

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Lynsey Madine

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Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2008

This is delicious bread! Time consuming, but not hard work. I used my kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook, made as directed except I used all purpose flour (I didn't have bread flour) and increased the amount of black olives a little bit. Baked at 450 for 15 minutes, then 360 for 30. Also, I wasn't sure about the lining the bowl with a floured dish towel part of the recipe. I hadn't done that before, but I haven't made much homemade bread, and never Artisan bread. So, I gave it a shot using a cloth napkin, that worked great. I was very proud of how this turned out, looks and tastes delicious! Thanks for the great recipe. I do think I'll take other suggestions and add a tsp of Italian seasoning to the dough next time, just to try it.

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Janett

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Tappahannock, Virginia, USA

Living In: Mechanicsville, Maryland, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 5, 2008

I have made this bread for ages and always it comes out wonderful. I use green olives too.

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amanecer

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Sep. 4, 2008

Delicious bread! I used AP flour, needed more than called for, doubled the olives, and baked at 450/350. Beautiful loaf - moist and tender on the inside with a nice crust. Will make this again!

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sixkyej

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

Living In: San Diego, California, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 24, 2008

This bread turned out GREAT! I did the dough in my breadmachine it has an Artisan Dough cycle. I replaced 1/4 cup of the water with 1/4 cup of the water from the olives - gave it a nice olive taste. I proofed my yeast (I learned this from many other people on this site and others and highly recommend it). I waited to add the chopped olives until the mix in beep on my bread machine. After it finished baking, I sifted a little bit of flour on top - gave it a nice look! It looks like something you would buy and an expensive bakery AND better yet, it taste that way too. I am actually making it again today, becuase my friends liked the first loaf a little too much.

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Joe

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Reviewed: Aug. 14, 2008

Loved this! I used about one cup of olives and threw in some minced garlic. Followed other reviewers baking advice and baked at 450 for 15 minutes, then put it down to 375.

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Toby

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2008

Disappointed in this. I was hoping to replicate the delicious homemade olive bread we were served everywhere in Beirut for breakfast. I followed the directions to a "T", including all three rises. I used excellent quality kalamata olives (the ones that go for $8.99 a pound in the deli). Unfortunately, I felt the bread lacked any depth, and was, of all things, a bit sweet! I tried warm from the oven, cold, and even toasted and failed to really enjoy it in any way. I brought about 2/3 of the loaf to a family party and everyone tried one piece since it's homemade bread, but not a single person went back for seconds, and I had leftovers to take home. Of homemade bread!! (It's not a "bad" recipe, it was just uninspiring to the taste buds.)

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Marcia_Marcia_Marcia

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Reviewed: Jun. 17, 2008

This is a very flavorful bread! I used my KitchenAid mixer for the first stage, using the paddle and then the dough hook for about 5 minutes. I had to add some flour at this stage because the dough was way too sticky! I used brined black and green mediterranean olives- about a 1 1/2 cups before I pitted them (the black were easier to pit). I added them whole into the mixer when there was about 1 minute left of machine kneading. I hand kneaded it after that. The top was a little browner than I was hoping for- I'll pay more attention next time. I can hardly wait to toast this bread!

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KIKINE22

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Albany, Oregon, USA

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Reviewed: May 10, 2008

This is a very delicoius bread and easy to make, although you have to wait for 2 raises. The flour was not enough I had to keep adding and adding until I could get a good dough but when I did it was a great dough and very easy to work with (will need about 1/2 to 3/4 cups more flour, adding gradually). I followed the lower temperature recommendations (230C/190C) and it was more than enough and the bread had great colour. The crust was not too dry and the interior was moist and dense and delicious. I used Syrian green olives that were in my fridge and I didn't know waht else to do with them but that bread was amazing. I even made it with all purpose flour when I had no bread flour and it was really good. Enjoy

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S. A. Baker

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2008

I used a modification of this recipe - flatbread, so no yeast (and thus, no trip to the grocery store). Used green olives. Before baking, brushed with olive oil and a mix of spices: garlic powder, paprika, cumin, curry powder, salt, pepper. Awesome stuff!

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Jennifer

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Olympia, Washington, USA

Living In: Seattle, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 29, 2008

This is one of my favorite bread recipes- it rivals artisan bakery varieties.

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Mayas_Mama

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Berkeley, California, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 8, 2008

This is a great recipe! I've tried lots of different olives in it and prefer the oil packed olives since their extra oil really makes the bread moist. Also, with proper kneading the bread bakes up almost spherically. It looks like a giant puff-ball mushroom!

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Jewissa

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Livermore, California, USA

Living In: Davis, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 22, 2008

I think my husband thought he had died and gone to bread lovers heaven...He ate half the loaf before dinner and was too full to eat! This is WONDERFUL. I've made it as written, great, but now I always add twice the amount of olives, (we love olives)and leave them whole. I buy a good jar of pitted Kalamatas and they are much less labor intensive. Also, I add a 1/2 tsp of garlic and onion powder and tsp of oregano. I also top the loaf with a sprinkling of shredded parm. cheese before baking. Looks pretty out of the oven. But bakes faster than time stated, but my oven does tend to run hot. Very, very good. Thanks for a bakery quality recipe!!

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joypip

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Puyallup, Washington, USA

Living In: Wenatchee, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 12, 2008

Just as described. Wonderful. I would next time turn the temperature down after 10 minutes instead of 15, because I found that the crust got too dark, which misled me into taking the bread out a little too early. I put it back in the oven for the remainder of the time, but it was still a bit undercooked in the middle.

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mcmeg12

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Living In: Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland

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Reviewed: Dec. 22, 2007

we loved it, it so easy, made it twice and i know i'll make it again. this time i will try it with green olives, thank you for sharing this deliceous recipie..

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Challa

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Oct. 27, 2007

I usually read reviews first and I wish I had for this one! Blackened all around by the time I checked it a few minutes before it should have been ready. I proofed yeast first since all I had handy was breadmakers yeast, dough rose beautifully and smelled heavenly (I did double the amount of olives to what I had on hand) - but the finished loaf has an overdone crust and honestly there's not much flavor to this otherwise. If the flavor seemed good I'd give the recipe another go per other reviewers' suggestions on temperature, but I don't think this particular recipe came out worth a redo for me.

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LYNN ANNE

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2007

Oh my gosh!!! This bread is sooo delicious!! I made it with fresh Greek Green Olives from Kroger's Deli and I LOVE IT!! Next time I might put in more olives. When I brought the round loaf out of the oven, I wrapped it in a towel. The next morning I sliced it and the crust texture was just right...for me! The bread texture is soft and moist. Todah for sharing your recipe!!

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