Olive and Rosemary Bread recipe

This simple bread recipe, flavoured with olives and rosemary, is delicious and easy to make. Perfect partners, the fragrant rosemary and salty olives add a wonderful savoury kick and make this an ideal sandwich loaf. Try making a few loaves and freezing them, ready for when you are running low on lunch box ideas through the week. If you don't have any rosemary try substituting it with thyme or oregano instead for an equally authentic Italian flavour.

Ingredients

• 500g (1lb) strong white bread flour
• 7g sachet easy-blend yeast1½ teaspoons sea salt, plus extra to sprinkle
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
• 175g (6oz) pimento-stuffed Halkidiki mixed olives, sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 rosemary sprigs
• 2 x 13cm (5in) high terracotta flower pots, lined with baking parchment

Method

1. Put flour, yeast, salt and sugar into a large bowl with olives. Pour in olive oil and 250-300ml (8-10fl oz) warm water. Mix to combine, and knead on a floured surface by hand for 10 minutes or in a free-standing electric mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
2. Put into a greased bowl, cover with cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 2, shape into rounds; ease each one into a flower pot. Press rosemary sprigs in the top, cover loosely with cling film, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (will take about 30 minutes).
4. Set the oven to Gas Mark 7 or 220°C. Remove cling film from bread and reduce oven to Gas Mark 6 or 200°C. Bake bread for 35 minutes until golden. To test if loaf is ready, upturn out of pot and tap base; it should sound hollow. Cool on a wire rack.