Cheese and olive loaf
Cookbook Challenge: Week 48
Theme: Bread
A very quick post for this week’s Cookbook Challenge because I’m still in holiday mode! (But I go back to work tomorrow -boo!). The theme for this week is “bread”. I wanted to do a proper yeast bread, but still being in holiday mode means that we slept in this morning and by the time I got around to looking for a recipe, there wasn’t enough time left in the day for bread to rise.
Never mind – self raising flour to the rescue!
This loaf was very quick to put together. I think I spent more time seeding the olives than doing anything else! Tastewise, it’s okay. It has mint in it, which I’m not entirely sure I like. It was good to use some mint though, because it has gone gangbusters in the garden since we’ve been away. The sage is also doing rather well, and I think I should have used sage in the loaf instead. I did like the cheese and olive in the loaf though – all the cheese gave the loaf a cheesy, crunchy crust. Mhmmm good.
However, I’m not sure if I like it enough to make it again. Perhaps with a different herb, less olives, and a smaller tin as mine came out rather flat!
PS: WEEK 48! You know what that means? Only 4 more weeks left of the Cookbook Challenge! Amazing. I better look at my cookbooks and see if there’s any I haven’t cooked from yet!
See previous Cookbook Challenge posts here.
Update: see the round up for this week at My Food Trail.
Cheese and olive loaf
From: Food We Love
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour (I used half white, half wholemeal)
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup (50g) coarsely grated parmesan
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup (120g) seeded black olives, chopped coarsely
75g mortadella, chopped coarsely
4 eggs, beaten lightly
80g butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 200°C and lightly grease a 8cm x 25cm bar cake pan / loaf tin.
Sift the flour into a medium sized bowl. Add the salt, parmesan, mint, pepper, olives and mortadella.
Add the eggs and butter to the mixture and mix until well combined.
Spread the mixture into the pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Turn on to a wire rack to cool before cutting into slices.
October 17, 2010 @ 11:44 pm
Seriously, Agnes? How did you know I’ve been searching for a yeast-free olive bread recipe for months? (I have a fair few beer bread recipes bookmarked that I was thinking of adding olives too.)
It’s like you’re my guardian angel, as well as my BFF. Wait, scratch that. You’d only be my angel if you baked this for me…
October 19, 2010 @ 8:52 pm
I knew because I’m psychic. It’s that BFF psychic link! Ooooh! Ahhh!
October 19, 2010 @ 10:41 pm
Thanks a lot, Agnes. I now have that “ooooh, aaaah, just a little bit, ooooh, aaah, little bit more” song in my head. For the first time since, what, year five? Hmph.
October 18, 2010 @ 1:03 am
It looks lovely, and I think it would be seriously good with sage. Then smothered in butter and garnished with fried sage leaves 😀
That mint sprig looks so pretty though, I feel bad for turning my back on it. Perhaps you could keep the mint sprig garnish as well.
October 19, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
Hehee, mint AND sage. Now you’re talking krazy! (And can’t everything be improved with MORE butter? And bacon, of course.)
October 18, 2010 @ 1:36 am
I’m not sure if I’m a fan of olives – they’re a tad too salty for me. But, the texture of the bread looks nice! So for me there is definitely potential here with different ingredients. 😀
October 19, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
Ditch the olives, and add BACON! I think that could be a goer. 😀
October 18, 2010 @ 3:28 am
Yummm, I love olive bread! This one looks good, too. I’d definitely be tempted to put rosemary in, instead of the mint… for some reason, I seem to like mint best when it’s fresh. Cooked mint just never seems to live up to its reputation. But I’m fussy, so you can just ignore all that rambling.
If you’re after more rise in the loaf next time, consider either beating the egg whites and folding the loaf together, like a sponge, or even just adding a hint of baking powder. Or you could up the flour, because you’ve got so many other things in the loaf, but I think that would dilute the olivey goodness. 😉
October 19, 2010 @ 8:55 pm
Rosemary! That would make a great loaf. 😀 I did bake it in far too small a tin – it looked so silly when I put it in the oven!
October 19, 2010 @ 9:05 am
I’m in awe of anybody who can bake breads! It’s still one of those things that I prod with a 10 foot pole and go “one day…”
October 19, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
Baking bread is so rewarding! It’s like magic when the yeast does it’s work and you see the dough rise. 😀 I wish I had time to do it more often.
October 20, 2010 @ 6:27 pm
I love olive bread, especially cheesy olive bread, I might of added some sundrided tomato and red onion instead of mint, either way it has me feeling very hungry. I can just imagine covering it in butter and eating it warm. Yummy!! Great pics too!