Cypriot Inspired Olive Bread

One of my favourite shows to watch is Food Safari with Maeve O’Maera. The other night I was watching the Cyprus episode and literally salivated for the whole episode … It is such an underrated cuisine. Many people mistake it for Greek food and although the two are very similar, Cyrpiot food is very much influenced by the Middle East. This means that many dishes are coloured with spices, textured with nuts and sweetened with dried fruit. For me, it is the perfect union between the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Oh so yumm! Anyway, somewhere between me daydreaming about the Flaounes (Easter Cheese Stuffed Pides) and Stuffed Vine Leaves was a clip of a man making Cypriot Olive Bread (Elioti). That was all I needed to see before I got the ingredients out and put it on the menu for the next day.

This bread is no ordinary olive bread. More often than not, I am disappointed by the (at minimum) $7 olive bread I buy – either too dense, not enough olives, or  lacking that freshness of the Mediterranean diet that it should embody. This bread on the other hand is like you’ve popped over to Greece or Cyprus and have been graced with a bread made from the experienced hands of an old grandmother. But the best part of it is, you don’t have to do that at all as it is super easy to make and I assure you, if you give it a bit of TLC it most definitely won’t disappoint you.

It is a very soft, light and fluffy textured bread and the layers of olives give it an aesthetically beautiful appeal and takes the taste to a whole other level. So, ditch that $7 bread or preservative intoxicated bread and put this on your to cook list ASAP.

5 cups strong white flour

2 ¼ cups warm water

1 teaspoon dried yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 cup good quality Kalamata olives pitted olives and chopped

sesame seeds for on top

In a medium sized bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Allow to rest in a warm spot for 45 minutes or until the mixture becomes foamy on top. In a large mixing bowl stir 4 cups of the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon. At this stage you should begin kneading the dough with your hands and gradually add the remaining one cup of flour. Depending on the humidity the dough may require more than the remaining one cup or less than the remaining one cup. Be careful to not add too much flour as you want the dough to be soft. Put the olive oil on your hands (this will help prevent adding too much flour) and knead the dough for 10 minutes until soft and elastic. Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough to this bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place in a warm spot for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Lightly flour a flat surface. Place the dough on this surface and using a rolling pin roll out into rectangle ½ an inch thick. Spread the olives around the dough and sprinkle the parsley on top. Roll the dough carefully into a log. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rise for another 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Sprinkle sesames over the bread and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool on an oven tray for 10 minutes before cutting and smothering with French butter or dunking in olive oil.