Bread-elights!

Bread is not something I make so often. Being in France, I usually enjoy buying the delicious bread, baguettes & co, available at charming boulangeries. Plenty of shapes, colours and tastes abundantly arranged on bakery shelves, to choose from. And please, spare me with the "carbs are bad" lectures. I LOVE CARBS and I'll shout that on top of a roof if necessary!

If I think about it, I have so many memories about bread. When I was a kid, I used to poke at the insides, and eat only the stuffing- the delightful soft fluffy bit- and leave the “hard” crusts to my parents. Aww...how sweet. I must had been a really nice kid eh. Then I also remember breaking chocolate bars and placing them between slices of warm bread. Now THAT is good stuff. Especially with butter- terribly sinful, but very forgivable! I also remember my grandfather introducing to me a very simple concoction: mix lemon juice with sugar, and spread that mixture on a buttered slice of bread. In some ways, I wish he hadn’t taught me that, because for many months later, it was pretty much all I was eating. Sugar, lemon, butter and bread. No wonder I developed a sweet tooth in my adulthood…And there is one thing I’m sure many can relate to- buying bread, and eating at least a quarter of it before you even get back home. It starts with breaking off a piece, then another one, get in the car, start the engine, eat another bite, start driving, stop at a traffic light, can’t resist the smell of fresh bread in your car, eat yet another bite…get back home and act completely astonished and clueless as to where half of the bread has disappeared! Oh!

With all these wonderful associations and thoughts about bread, naturally, I decided to make some. I wanted to make something pretty and tasty, so I thought of using some pistachios and green olives in my mix.

When the dough was ready, I found myself with a shape that led to something quite interesting. As my knife was slicing away, I realized that I was getting long biscotti shaped pieces- except that they were ten times softer then biscotti! These green polka-dotted breads would be perfect for a stylish dinner, placed in long glasses for people’s fingers to reach out to. Their fingers would then capture a delicate fragrant scent of olive oil... I absolutely loved the result, and am definitely sharing the recipe- just scroll down a bit more!

Recipe for olive & pistachio brown bread:

Ingredients:

• 250 g brown flour
• 15g yeast
• Green Olives
• Pistachio (unsalted)
• 20g olive oil + some for rubbing
• 150ml warm water

How to make it:

1. In a bowl, throw in the brown flour, prepared yeast, olive oil, pistachio, and diced olives. Do not add salt because the olives contribute to this. Mix these ingredients around for a bit.
2. Then add the warm water. Knead for 10 minutes. The kneading will help the bread’s elasticity, so it keeps a smooth surface when baked.
3. Place dough ball in an olive-oiled container, and leave so that it can rise.
4. Once risen, preheat oven to th8. Shape dough as desired, and bake for 10 mins on th8, and 20mins on th6 (timing depends on the size of the dough ball).

Take out of oven, slice and enjoy! This can also be made with white flour of course- whatever you prefer really!