The Greek word eliopsomo translates to olive (elia) bread (psomi). Homemade bread is the ultimate comfort food. The addition of olives makes this a festive bread that is perfect for entertaining.

Print this recipe here:https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/eliopsomo-greek-olive-bread/
Makes 1 loaf:
The Wet Ingredients:
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups tepid water
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
The Dry Ingredients:
• 2 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (320 grams) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil plus more for filling
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cups pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
Optional filling ingredients:
• Sundried tomatoes, chopped
• Caramelized onions
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Fresh herbs

Sesame seeds (optional)

Combine the wet ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and set aside for 8 minutes or until the yeast is activated. As soon as a foamy cloud appears on top of the liquid the yeast is active. If this does not happen, discard the mixture and start over with a fresh batch of yeast.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Add them to the yeast mixture along with 1.4 cup olive oil and the rosemary. Knead on low speed for 8 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in the warmest part of your home for 1-2 hours or until doubled in volume.
Place the dough on a clean work surface and cut it into 4 pieces. Stretch each piece of dough as much as possible without tearing. Approximately 10 inches in diameter. Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil on 3 of the dough circles and distribute the olives evenly on top of each piece. Stack the pieces of dough on top of each other and form into a ball by bringing all of the ends towards the center.

Preheat oven to 500 °F, 260 °C.
Place a cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven and a pizza stone on the center rack to preheat.
Place the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Brush the top of the dough with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cut 4-5 slits on the top of the dough and place it on the center rack of the oven.

Reduce the oven’s temperature to 450 °F, 230 °C
Carefully pour 1 and ½ cups ice-cold water into the cast-iron skillet to create steam in the oven. This will create a bakery-style crust on the bread.
Bake for 30 minutes. Place the bread directly onto the pizza stone for 5 more minutes.
Allow the bread to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!
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41 Comments

  1. Looks wonderful but I SURE WISH, chefs would advise us, if we can’t afford a $300 Kitchen-Aid mixer, how long we’d need to knead the dough. (Even tho’ it’s a bicep builder, it’s the old fashioned way our European Grannies made 🥖 🥯 🍞)

  2. Hello Dimitra. This looks great and I want to give it a go. What is the best way to bake the bread, i. e. Conventional top-bottom, conventional with heat only from bottom, or fan with lower temperature? Thank you very much

  3. I love the recipes,,,just learning to bake bread myself,,,,,I’ll have to go elsewhere for another recipe,,,because you don’t mention any quantities of the ingredients,,,which is real frustrating to most people……looks good though…please in the future be more specific in the amount of ingredients,,,,,,

  4. What does the water on the bread do? Also why ice water in the oven? Can I bake this in a Dutch oven with lid on? Or it has to be open

  5. Thank you for a delicious sounding recipe I would be afraid of cracking a hot cast iron skillet by pouring cold water into it.
    I use a cheap pie tin with hot water in it, that I allow to heat up with the oven.

  6. Hi this bread I want to make can I use a Dutch oven with lid on as I do make some bread in the Dutch oven would love to hear from you x I made filo spinach ricotta pies today not bad fist time thanks for sharing 😘

  7. Good recipe, and thank you so much for leaving us printable instructions. Only thing is no commercial yeast nowadays. I only have home grown yeast. I ll try.

  8. Hi Hun I want to make that beautiful olive bread from your video I watched can I put it in a Dutch oven with lid on I love all your shows your the best xx🤗

  9. It looks delicious I just suscribed now I will follow your instructions but add with the olives spicy green peppers. Thank you for your recipe.

  10. Thank you I just made it and finished it. Very easy to make thanks to your very precise advise, Delicious, I did the same one with black olives, oregano and olive oil, I also added spicy green peppers cut in small pieces. Thank you very much I will make that bread regularly, one of my preferred !

  11. I just made this bread and followed your video step by step……the bread tasted great but I found that all the olives are around the edge of the loaf, hardly any olives in the middle, why?
    Is there a special way to fold the dough after u put the four layers together? I did follow the same way you did in the video.
    Thanks

  12. I love this bread, but I am having some difficulty preventing the olives from separating the layers. I wonder if I should chop to olives finer, if I should add less or more olive oil, if I should press the layers of dough together, etc.

  13. Omg i come across your channel recently and have subscribed to it. Omg i made this recipe also added sundried tomato to it. I come from a greek cypriot family so i know about olive bread but your recipe was so so easy to make and so delicious. My son is a chef and wants to make it with me. i will be using this recipe from now on. Thank you Dimitra for sharing such a wonderful and easy recipe the black sesame seeds are great addition to it .

  14. Sorry, but I would never put any food to rice in the dryer. 😊
    Put the light on in your oven and the breads will rise tremendously fantasticly amazing. Try it. I make my bread every week and it turns out delicious.

  15. Hi, you’re so great, but you not telling me the measurements for the olive bread. Please post Thank you

  16. Hello to you dear Dimitras…dear…..love it!!!!!….I have questions…..this delicious Greek olive bread….can be made in advance???…..an other question…..can be freeze as well???…..I will have my family over for the holidays…..making many of your wonderful dishes …..so this bread for sure will be a hit….specially with sorts of cheese…..I will wait for your reply…..stay safe…take care….all the best for your family…..merry Christmas!!!…Rebeca …..Canada😊

  17. Hello Dimitra ,I love cooking heaps and I love to experiment as well, I remember my mums recipes but 7:59 I try to modernise them a little, in my olive bread I love to add chopped kalamata olives ,chopped up onion,shallots fresh mint ,and fresh coriander it's delicious and I also add cut up halloumi cheese especially when u cut the olive bread ,the green with olives looks amazing

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