Recipe Doctor: Elaine Magee MPH, RD

Changing the Way America Eats – One Recipe at a Time

Recipe Doctor: Elaine Magee MPH, RD header image 1

Recipe of the Month: October

October 4th, 2007 · No Comments

New Bread Machine Recipe—Kalamata Olive Bread

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

[Visit www.recipedoctor.com to find out more about Elaine’s newest cookbook, COMFORT FOOD MAKEOVERS, and to join the FREE Recipe Doctor Club!]

Q–Dear Recipe Doctor, I have a bread machine and I’ve noticed that some of your recipes (which all work out so well) call for using a bread machine to make the bread dough. Do you have a recipe for olive bread? I’ve purchased this in the store but I would like to make it at home after you have “doctored” it up.

A—I do definitely use my bread machine to make bread dough which I then shape and let rise a second time before popping in the oven. I almost never actually bake the bread in the bread machine. Just using the dough cycle saves so much time and effort compared to completely from scratch. And most of the things I’m making with my bread machine, like pizza crust or cinnamon rolls, require baking in the oven anyway.

I’ve not made olive bread before but your letter inspired me today! I used a couple tablespoons of olive oil to give the bread dough a nice texture and for the sweetness (which helps feed the yeast activity); I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey. Just a teaspoon of salt was used (it helps control the yeast activity), which is less than most bread recipes call for. And to kick up the fiber and whole grain nutrients, whole-wheat flour replaced half of the white flour.

dscf0019-300.jpg

Kalamata Olive Bread (for the bread machine)
This bread works well as an accompaniment to an entrée or as the bread in a sandwich.

Makes 12 servings

1/3 cup + 1/2 cup warm water (95-105-degrees F)
1 1/2 tablespoons honey (dark corn syrup can be substituted)
2 tablespoons olive oil (canola oil can also be used)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-ounce packet rapid rise or bread machine yeast (about 2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup whole pitted kalamata olives (available in jars), drained
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour

1. Add water, honey, and olive oil to bread machine pan. Then add in the whole-wheat flour and white flour. Drop the salt into one corner of the bread machine pan then make a well in the center of the flour in the pan and pour in the yeast.
2. Click on the “dough cycle” button and press Start. While the dough is mixing, measure out 3/4 cup of the kalamata olives. After about 5 minutes of mixing, drop in the whole olives. The bread machine will incorporate them into the dough and the rest of the dough cycle should take another 1 hour and 35 minutes.
3. When the dough cycle is complete, Cover the outside of the dough with some white flour (about 2 tablespoons), place on a nonstick baking sheet and shape the dough into a French bread shaped loaf about 11-inches long and 4-inches wide. Start preheating the oven to 400-degrees then cover the bread with a towel and place near the preheating oven.
4. When the bread has doubled in size (about 45 minutes), bake in the hot oven for about 35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown. Place the bread on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Serve the bread warm or cold!

Per serving: 150 calories, 4 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 4.5 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 3.4 g monounsaturated fat, .6 g polyunsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 2.5 g fiber, 314 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28 percent.
Omega-3 fatty acids = .1 g Weight Watchers POINTS = 3
Omega-6 fatty acids = .4 g

Tags: Recipe Doctor Club · Recipes