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
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.
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:
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.
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.
Better than store-bought – Freshly baked, warm bread straight from your oven beats anything from the bakery.
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.
All the ingredients can be found at your local supermarket (or grocery store if you're in the Northern Hemisphere):
Baker's flour - Not regular flour.
Dried yeast - Baker's yeast.
Sugar - we use raw sugar but you can use whatever you have on hand or even honey.
Salt - a fine salt is preferable. Our choice is Celtic sea salt.
Black olives - chopped (alternatively you can use other olives)
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 or even Slow Cooker Caramelised Onion and feta.
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
How to make The Best Ever Olive Bread
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).
Step 2 - Punch down the dough. Knead it again for 5 minutes then cover and rest for another 30 minutes.
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 (non-smooth) side is up.
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).
Step 5 - Here it is risen and ready to be baked.
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.
Step 7 - Fresh out of the oven.
Step 8 - Transfer it to a wire rack & let it cool before slicing.
Recipe FAQs
How long do I knead the Best Ever Oliver Bread dough 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 when baking The Best Ever Olive Bread?
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 The Best Ever Olive Bread 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.
Pro Tip
Bread flours can vary in their consistency and 'thirstiness.' If 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.
MADE THE BEST EVER OLIVE BREAD RECIPE AND LOVED IT? Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love connecting with you! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Pinterest.
Recipe
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.
We went to the Maldives last year and out of all the lovely food available the one that stood out for me was a round loaf of olive bread covered in a wonderful flour.I have been searching for a recipe and think i've found it.Looking forward to making this very soon cup measurements are fine by me.Thanks for sharing.x
I never would have thought of the Maldives as somewhere that would have had amazing olive bread! I hope this loaf lives up to that.
Louise Boweringsays
Just mad this bread and it turned out delicious!!! I added extra olives and rosemary, dead set it turned out so moist and not dry! Everytime I have made bread it has turned out dry and flat! I will keep this recipe for life!
You're very welcome Chris. That reminds me I really need to make this again!
Carolesays
I just made the olive bread in this recipe today for the first time. I used 1 tbspn of the coconut sugar and two teaspoons of salt but otherwise kept the rest of the recipe the same. It has turned out fabulous. Great light texture. Rose really well and tastes terrific. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Love it! I am not that well practised at making bread, having only taken to it recently. I have only made 6 batches (12 loaves) of wholemeal bread previously.
I made this last night and also found that it was too sticky and needed more flour. However after rectifying the situation and making a mess with flour all over the kitchen the end result was worth it!
Yay so glad it was worth it in the end Vinni. It can totally depend on even the brand of flour that you use. Some of them soak up the water more than others.
lisasays
This was a perfect recipe!I swapped 1/2 cup of plain for for rye and I worked a treat would this still be good with only 2 rises rather than three?
Thanks Lisa! I actually made it today and I think it would be ok with 2 rises.
leesays
I love this recepie and have made it at least a dozen times even with sun dried tomatoes or just plain and even used wholemeal flour. Sometimes I feel it needs more flour but maybe its because I don't know what weight a cup of flour should be. Ive made rolls for dinner this evening to go with yummy Italian sausages as my family will be here putting the Christmas tree up. Kitchen smells amazing. Thank you for your recepie.
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.
(I have just made one with that I have added grated tastie cheese. ( hoping it works)
Rod says
Hi I have been making damper and bread for a long time and this one is a winner congrats
Claire says
So glad you like it Rod!
Pete says
We went to the Maldives last year and out of all the lovely food available the one that stood out for me was a round loaf of olive bread covered in a wonderful flour.I have been searching for a recipe and think i've found it.Looking forward to making this very soon cup measurements are fine by me.Thanks for sharing.x
Claire says
I never would have thought of the Maldives as somewhere that would have had amazing olive bread! I hope this loaf lives up to that.
Louise Bowering says
Just mad this bread and it turned out delicious!!! I added extra olives and rosemary, dead set it turned out so moist and not dry! Everytime I have made bread it has turned out dry and flat! I will keep this recipe for life!
Claire says
Woohoo! Well done Louise. It really is the best bread isn't it?!
Chris says
First time making bread, came out absolutely perfect and so delicious, was eaten in a few minutes hot out of the oven. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Claire says
You're very welcome Chris. That reminds me I really need to make this again!
Carole says
I just made the olive bread in this recipe today for the first time. I used 1 tbspn of the coconut sugar and two teaspoons of salt but otherwise kept the rest of the recipe the same. It has turned out fabulous. Great light texture. Rose really well and tastes terrific. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Love it! I am not that well practised at making bread, having only taken to it recently. I have only made 6 batches (12 loaves) of wholemeal bread previously.
Claire says
You're very very welcome. It's a delicious bread isn't it? I need to get some more olives and make it again!
Shaf says
Fantastic!!! My first try at baking and it turned out beautifully...thanks
Claire says
I'm so glad Shaf!
Liana says
I just took my loaves out of the oven, they came out perfect!!! I couldn't help myself I had to cut off a slice - so delicious!
Thank you for sharing this recipe :)
Claire says
You're very welcome Liana! So glad you liked them
Vinni says
I made this last night and also found that it was too sticky and needed more flour. However after rectifying the situation and making a mess with flour all over the kitchen the end result was worth it!
Claire says
Yay so glad it was worth it in the end Vinni. It can totally depend on even the brand of flour that you use. Some of them soak up the water more than others.
lisa says
This was a perfect recipe!I swapped 1/2 cup of plain for for rye and I worked a treat would this still be good with only 2 rises rather than three?
Claire says
Thanks Lisa! I actually made it today and I think it would be ok with 2 rises.
lee says
I love this recepie and have made it at least a dozen times even with sun dried tomatoes or just plain and even used wholemeal flour. Sometimes I feel it needs more flour but maybe its because I don't know what weight a cup of flour should be. Ive made rolls for dinner this evening to go with yummy Italian sausages as my family will be here putting the Christmas tree up. Kitchen smells amazing. Thank you for your recepie.
Claire says
That sounds wonderful Lee. I actually have some homemade sun-dried tomato in the fridge so I'll have to try it!
Dani says
Great olive bread recipe. I'm so impressed I'm looking for more of your bread recipes! :-)
I halved the quantities to try it out first and it worked a perfectly.
Claire says
So glad you liked it Dani! I have heaps of bread recipes. Hope you like them all.
Kala says
Hi Claire, This was absolutely delicious and came out really well.
How can I make brown bread using the same method?
Claire says
Hi Kala. I think it would just be experimenting with different types of flour. I'd start with the same recipe and use a different flour.
Susan Healey says
I am making this for the first time, does it matter if I forget it as I did so the last rise was 30 minutes ooppss
Laura says
Made this yesterday. Very messy to make but it was definitely worth it. Thanks!
Claire says
You're welcome Laura. Making mess is half the fun!
johanna says
What are the cup measurements, in ounces. Please
Looking forward to making this bread.
Liz randall says
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.
(I have just made one with that I have added grated tastie cheese. ( hoping it works)
Claire says
Ooh yum Liz. I love the added cheddar idea. Hope it turns out but I'm sure it will. So glad you like the recipe!