Black Rice Olive Bread

A great day for playing in the kitchen. My friend, Ben Gordon, came over and we baked some bread. He chose to make the Sesame Cheddar Bread – an instant favorite for anyone who tries it. He is a natural – his bread came out light, fluffy, and delicious! I made a batch of an original recipe using black rice, semolina, and olives (similar sounding to my Mom’s Semolina Olive Bread, but not based on it).

Egg sandwich for my Dad

Small loaf made without olives

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Black Rice Olive Bread

Black Rice Olive Bread contains ground black rice, semolina, and olives - similar to my Mom's Semolina Olive Bread, but not based on it. Makes great egg sandwiches...

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings 2 large loaves

Author Mark Oppenneer

Ingredients

• 2 scant tablespoons (or 2 ¼-ounce packages) active dry yeast
• 2½ cups warm water about 110 degrees
• ½ cup diced onion
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 cup of cooked black rice
• ¼ cup dried black rice ground into flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 5-6 cups unbleached flour
• 1 cup diced olives well drained
• additional olive oil

Instructions

1. Sauté the onion and garlic. Let cool.
2. In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Add salt, mustard, olive oil, cooked black rice, black rice flour, the cooked onion and garlic, semolina, and one cup of the unbleached flour. Beat vigorously for two minutes.
3. Gradually add flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.
4. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
5. Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Press it flat, add the olives, and knead them into the dough.
7. Shape the dough (makes great sandwich bread in a loaf pan, dinner rolls in a muffin tin, or a nice round loaf cooked on a baking stone or baking sheet). Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
8. About 10 minutes (30 if using a baking stonbefore baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Just before baking, cut slits across the top of your loaf about ¼-inch deep.
10. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the loaves reaches 190 degrees.
11. Immediately remove bread from pans or baking sheet and cool on a rack.