Olive and halloumi bread Recipe

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Olive and halloumi bread
(Image credit: FUTURE PUBLISHING)
Makes4
SkillMedium
Preparation Time40 mins plus proving
Cooking Time20 mins
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories722 Kcal36%
Fat26 g37%
Saturated Fat7 g35%
Carbohydrates99 g38%

These mammoth olive and halloumi bread loaves are biggies and great for sharing and tearing. Serve alongside a classic tomato soup or as a hearty side to a fresh salad.You could experiment with the things you use to adorn the top. We kept it simple with mixed olives. However, you could dress your up with capers, pickles, even chunks of fresh veg to make them even more vibrant. You could experiment with different fillings too. We used pesto and halloumi, because we can’t get enough of the squeaky cheese. But you could try it with our roast tomato and mozzarella sandwich.

 

 

Method

  1. Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the yeast. Add 300ml lukewarm water and combine to form a dough. Add the olive oil and salt and then knead the dough, either in a mixer with a dough hook or on a lightly floured surface, for 8-10 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough into an oiled bowl and smother the top with a little more oil. Cover with a clean damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to prove for 1 hr or until almost doubled in size.
  2. Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Then divide two of the pieces in half again. Shape the four large pieces into flat disks, place a slice of halloumi and tsp of pesto into the centre. Fold the dough over pinching the seams firmly together.
  3. Place on a flour dusted baking tray. Put a damp cloth on top and prove for a further 30 mins. Cover the smaller pieces in cling and place in the fridge. On a floured cutting board roll the smaller pieces of dough into 15cm rounds. Create a lattice pattern by making alternating incisions using a sharp knife.
  4. Brush the halloumi filled rolls with the egg. Stretch a smaller piece of dough over each to expose the holes. Tuck the edges underneath. Press half an olive into each gap. Heat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. Once hot cook the rolls for 20 mins. Serve warm.

Ingredients

  • 500g strong white bread flour
  • 7g dry yeast or 14g fresh yeast
  • 40ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 2tsp sea salt
  • 100g halloumi, cut into 4 slices
  • 4tsp pesto
  • 150g black and green olives
  • 1 egg, beaten
Top Tip for making Olive and halloumi bread

Swap the pesto filling for tapenade for an extra olive delight Skill level: Hard

Rose Fooks

Rose Fooks is the Deputy Food Editor at woman&home. Rose completed a degree in Art at Goldsmiths University before beginning her career in the restaurant industry as a commis chef at The Delaunay in 2015. She then worked at Zedel and went on to become part of the team that opened Islington’s popular Bellanger restaurant. 

To hone her patissier skills, Rose joined the Diplome de Patisserie and Culinary Management course at Le Cordon Bleu. She ran a food market in Islington and cooked for a catering company that used only surplus food to supply events, before finding her way into publishing and food styling.