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Helen Oless's Prosciutto and Olive Braid

Helen Oless developed this bread while working as a baker at Bloomingdale’s in the early 1980s. Ms. Oless put into practice years of experimentation with flours, yeasts and baking techniques to create delicious country-style brick-oven breads, then the pride of the store’s bakeshop. They included rye, whole wheat, white, currant-whole wheat, walnut-whole wheat as well as more exotic combinations such as an aromatic cheddar cheese-caraway and this prosciutto-olive braid.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal for baking sheet
  • 6 ounces slab prosciutto, finely chopped (least salty variety)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, mashed in salt
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seed, bruised in mortar and pestle
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1 ¼ cups hot (about 110 degrees) tap water
  • 1 tablespoon dry yeast
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup vegetable shortening (at room temperature)
  • 1 ½ dozen Greek olives, chopped
  • 3 cups bread flour (approximately)
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

      398 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 16 grams protein; 14 milligrams cholesterol; 622 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

1 large loaf

Preparation

  1. Sprinkle baking sheet, approximately 9 1/2 by 11 inches, with cornmeal and set aside.
  2. Saute prosciutto in 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in garlic, fennel seed and pepper. Pour contents into large mixing bowl.
  3. Add hot water, yeast and sugar.
  4. Stir in 1 cup all-purpose flour. Beat in 1/4 cup shortening. Add chopped olives.
  5. Add 1 more cup of all-purpose flour. Dough will be sticky at this point. Scrape out onto work surface.
  6. Gradually knead in 3 cups of bread flour until dough is smooth and elastic.
  7. Cover with inverted bowl; rest for 10 minutes.
  8. Roll dough into a 10-inch-by-15-inch rectangle. Cut three strips in rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch at end uncut. Braid and pinch bottom end.
  9. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place until light and doubled in volume – about one hour. When doubled, bake in preheated 400-degree oven until hollow sound is heard when loaf is tapped on bottom.

About 2 hours 45 minutes

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