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Olive bread - the best bread I've ever baked

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This easy olive bread recipe bakes up crusty, soft, and full of flavour—perfect for beginners or anyone wanting the best homemade bread ever.

Olive bread with 2 slices out on a wooden chopping board with a silver bread knife on a bench top.
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I have baked a lot of bread over the years. Most of them have turned out delicious but not quite as good as the really good bakery bread. That is until I discovered Olive bread.

This olive bread was one of the nicest breads I have had.

With a golden, crispy crust and soft fluffy inside, this olive bread is something you must try.

This is my go-to recipe for olive bread! It always turns out perfectly and the whole family loves it. My 2 year old would eat the whole loaf on her own if we let her!
Thanks for posting the recipe!

:D Deb

Why make this bread

Really you should just read the comments at the bottom of this post if you need convincing but here are a few other reasons:

  1. It’s surprisingly easy – You don't need any fancy equipment or skills (a stand mixer does help if you have one though). This is a simple recipe anyone can master at home.
  2. Flavour – With juicy olives and the perfect crust (not too thick but still a decent crunch) it’s the kind of bread that disappears fast - especially fresh out fo the oven slathered with butter.
  3. Better than store-bought – Freshly baked, warm bread straight from your oven beats anything from the bakery.
  4. Versatile & impressive – Serve it with dips, cheese boards, soups, or just warm with butter—perfect for entertaining or everyday meals. Plus you can add different flavours to change it up.
Ingredients laid out to make olive bread on a marble bench. Bread flour, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, water and black olives.

Ingredients

All the ingredients can be found at your local supermarket (or grocery store if you're in the Northern Hemisphere):

  • Baker's flour
  • Dried yeast
  • Sugar - we use raw sugar but you can use whatever you have on hand
  • Salt - a fine salt is preferable. Our choice is Celtic sea salt.
  • Black olives - chopped
  • Olive oil
  • Warm water - water should be at 37C or 110F

Variations

The first time I made it, I loved it so much I had another go the next day and tried it out as a plain multigrain bread (adding seeds instead of olives).

It was just as good.

Once you master the first one you can vary the fillings and flavours to whatever your heart desires.

I think parmesan and herbs is next on the agenda or garlic and rosemary.

Add your mix ins where the recipe says to add the olives.

Out of all of the olive bread receipes I tried and tested before. This one I have found the best. It's simple and not complicated. Even my husband who is trying his hand at making bread likes this simple receipe.

Liz randall

Instructions

Ingredients for making olive bread in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Step 1

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl & mix together. Once combined turn onto a floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic.

By hand it's about 10 minutes, using a mixer and dough hook 5 or 6. Shape into a ball, cover with an upturned mixing bowl and leave to rise until doubled (about 45min).

Hand print from being punched with a fist in olive bread dough.

Step 2

Punch down the dough. Knead it again for 5 minutes then cover and rest for another 30 minutes.

Olive dough in floured tea towel in a bowl

Step 3

Line a bowl with a lint-free tea towel & dust with flour. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the tea towel so the seam is up.

Dough wrapped in a tea towel in a glass bowl

Step 4

Fold the tea towel over the dough and leave for its final rise until it doubles in size (about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile, place a cake tin with an inch of water in the bottom of the oven and pre-heat to 210 C fan-forced (410F).

Olive bread dough ball risen in a tea-towel lined glass bowl

Step 5

Here it is risen and ready to be baked.

Ball of olive bread dough on a baking paper lined oven tray ready for baking.

Step 6

Gently turn the dough out onto the prepared tray so the seam is now on the bottom. Bake for 15 minutes at 210C then turn the oven down to 170C and bake for another 30 minutes.

Olive bread fresh out of the oven on a lined baking tray

Step 7

Fresh out of the oven

Freshly baked olive bread coated in flour cooling on a wire rack.

Step 8

Transfer it to a wire rack & let it cool before slicing.

FAQs

How long do I knead for if using a mixer?

Using a mixer makes it a lot faster. About 5 minutes should do it. My favourite tip is to knead it until when you pinch some between your thumb and forefinger, it feels like an earlobe (I know it's a weird description but it's very accurate).

Why do you put the pan of water in the oven?

The water in the oven creates steam which helps the bread rise. Essentially it stops the crust from forming too quickly so the loaf has room to grow. Don't skip this step.

Would it work as smaller buns?

We haven't tried it but I'm certain it would. You would shape the buns at the final stage before the tea towel step. Instead of a bowl, line a tray or plate with a floured tea towel, pop your shaped buns on top, sprinkle with a little more flour and then cover with another tea towel. Reduce the baking time to 10 minutes at 210C and 10-15 at 170C depending on size.

Tips

Bread flours can vary in their consistency and 'thirstiness.' If you find your dough is super sticky in the first knead you might need to add more flour.

Use a couple of tablespoons of flour at a time and knead them in before adding more until it's no longer sticky.

Storage

This bread is best eaten on the day of baking.

After that, the best way to freshen it is to sprinkle with a little bit of water, wrap in aluminium foil and heat in the oven at about 100C.

The full loaf can also be frozen (wrapped in plastic wrap) then thawed and reheated the same way.

More bread recipes

Bread is a big feature around here. Here are a few more recipes you might like:

Recipe

Olive bread on a wooden chopping board on a marble bench top. The end has been sliced.

Olive bread

The most delicious homemade olive bread you'll ever find. Don't be put off by the prep time - it's only about 15 minutes hands-on the rest is resting time.
4.50 from 16 votes
Print Pin Rate Save
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Side
Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 large loaf
Calories: 156kcal
Author: Claire Cameron

Ingredients

  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons sugar I used 1tsp
  • 1 teaspoon salt I used 2 tsp
  • ½ cup chopped black olives
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1¼ cups warm water 110F / 45C

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix together flour, yeast, sugar, salt, black olives, olive oil, and water. You can do this using a dough hook on a stand mixer.
  • Turn out dough onto a floured board and knead it until it is smooth and elastic.
  • Set it aside to rise for about 45 minutes or until it doubles in size.
  • Punch the risen dough down and then knead it again for 5-10 minutes or until it's smooth.
  • Cover it again and leave to rise for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
  • Use your hands to shape the dough into a round ball.
  • Line a large bowl with a lint-free tea towel and coat it generously with flour.
  • Turn the dough into the tea towel so it is seam-side up.
  • Dust the top with a bit more flour and then cover it loosely and leave it to double in size again (about 20 minutes).
  • While the bread is rising for the third time, put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven and preheat it to 210C(410F) fan-forced.
  • Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  • Gently tun the dough onto the baking tray seam side down.
  • Bake the loaf at 210C(410F) for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 170C(340F) and bake for 30 more minutes, or until it is golden.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 39mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 23IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Have you made this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think. Tag me on Instagram @clairekcreations

More Bread

Comments

  1. Claire says

    5 stars
    Legitimately the best bread I've ever made!

    Reply

  2. Lorraine says

    Hi, if making this lovely bread with fresh yeast, how much should I use?

    Reply

    • Claire says

      Hi Lorraine. I'm not experienced with fresh yeast but apparently you need to use double the amount. Hope that works! x

  3. Lorraine says

    Thank you sooooo much for wonderful olive bread. I have just treated myself to a kitchenaid mixer and wondered if I still had to knead the bread again if I mix for 5 mins initially?

    Reply

    • Claire says

      Hi Lorraine. You're very welcome. You will need to knead it again after the first rise yes but you can put it in the mixer.

  4. Rachel says

    Great recipe except for sugar quantity in the ingredients which is misleading in terms of tablespoons and teaspoons! I think perhaps 2 tablespoons should read teaspoons. It's definitely too sweet when you only put 1 tablespoon in. Shall I blame my eyesight or the fact I was reading off my iPhone?
    Lovely texture though and will certainly make again now I've figured out the typo.

    Reply

    • Claire says

      Hi Rachel,

      Thank you I'm glad you like it! The original recipe had it as 2tbsp but I did put in brackets that I only use 1 tsp. It must be an american recipe. I find their breads very sweet.

      I hope that helps!

      Claire

  5. Deb says

    This is my go-to recipe for olive bread! It always turns out perfectly and the whole family loves it. My 2 year old would eat the whole loaf on her own if we let her!

    Thanks for posting the recipe! :D

    Reply

    • Claire says

      It's a bit irresistible isn't it? You're welcome!

  6. Faaiza says

    Hi, I'm excited to try this recipe but I'm just confused about the purpose of putting the pan of water in the oven ?? Are you supposed to leave it in the whole time?

    Reply

    • Claire says

      Faaiza it's to create some steam while the bread is cooking. Yep you leave it in there and it will be absorbed. Enjoy!

  7. Hind says

    Hi and thank you for this recipe I'm going to try it. I was wondering if it would work as smaller buns instead of a big loaf? Thanks again.

    Reply

    • Claire says

      Sure would Hind. I would divide the dough after the first rise.

4.50 from 16 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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