Kalamata Olive Bread

Kalamata olive bread is a super flavorful loaf of homemade bread that is sure to amaze.

Thankfully, this is a very easy recipe for the baker to pull together and yet impressive enough to serve at any dinner feast.

Rustic Bread

There’s nothing fancy here. Like the best yeast breads, simple ingredients combine for wonderful flavor.

Do use the best, most flavorful kalamata olives you can find. The flavor comes from these jewels, don’t skimp.

You don’t have to be an olive lover to enjoy this wonderful recipe, but kalamata olive haters are not going to enjoy slices of this at all.

Crusty Loaf

For a crusty, crispy loaf, I brushed the top of the bread with warm water before baking.

You could also spritz the walls of the preheated oven with water for steam that will help give a crisper crust.

If crusty bread isn’t your favorite, skip that step and just bake as you would normally.

Loaf Shape

Something about the nature of this bread just screams round loaf to me. However, you could also bake it in a loaf pan, if desired.

Honestly, go with whatever loaf shape most tickles your fancy – you may need to adjust the amount of time it bakes, just check earlier and be prepared to go a few minutes longer. Otherwise there isn’t in any difference in the recipe or technique to achieve good results.

Flour Choices

I went with basic bread flour here for ease and texture.

One could substitute whole wheat flour for some of the bread flour, if desired. Wheat flours tend to absorb more water than bread flour, so add bread flour slowly to check for final elastic ball feel when kneading.

All purpose flour could also be used but you may need additional flour as it tends to absorb less water than bread flour.

Flavorful Additions

The olives obviously flavor this bread and it is a great recipe as written. However you can add so many different things to give it more flavor:

Add a teaspoon of garlic powder to the bread dough, or 3 cloves of minced fresh garlic

Finely chopped fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme would be incredible

A Cup of parmesan cheese or other favorite hard cheese would be delightful

How to Serve

This is a good bread to serve alongside simple salads or soups to round out the meal.

I quite like it lightly toasted with eggs for breakfast.

It makes an amazing sandwich bread for your most favorite savory fillings.

How to Freeze

You can freeze leftover kalamata bread so make extra if you’re so inclined.

The one caveat is that once frozen and thawed the crust doesn’t keep it’s crispiness. Honestly, that’s a small price to pay to have loaves of this bread at the ready.

Simply wrap baked and cooled loaves in plastic wrap or store in freezer bags. You can also freeze the slices in an airtight container to pull out just a few slices as needed.

Use up a frozen loaf of bread within 6 months for best flavor.

Try my black olive bread if you don’t have kalamata olives on hand.