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This Dutch oven olive bread has a crispy crust, soft crumb, and pockets of savory flavor in every bite with roasted garlic paste & chopped kalamata olives folded into the dough.

Two slices of artisan bread filled with chopped olives on a metal plate.

This Rustic Olive Bread Feels Straight Out of a European Bakery

My crusty olive bread is the loaf I bake when I want to turn a weeknight dinner into something special without much effort. Kalamata olives are my favorite to use for their color contrast in this bread, but green Castelvetrano olives work great too here. Just don't swap in canned black olives, which lost their flavor & came out bland in recipe testing.

I adapted this recipe from my rosemary & roasted garlic bread, but I changed the way I incorporated the fillings into the dough. Instead of kneading them in, I prefer to spread the roasted garlic paste and olives onto the risen dough with a series of folds, similar to laminating dough. Since olives break up the gluten structure, this method ensures those briny, savory flavors are evenly distributed, without tearing the dough or making it become gummy & dense once it's baked.

Bowls of water, flour, Kalamata olives, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt next to dry yeast and a head of garlic on a table. — **Ingredients:** A whole head of garlic plus garlic powder add savory flavor to balance the briny olives. Olive oil mixed into the dough keeps it soft & moist.

Let's Bake Olive Bread!

For the full step-by-step directions, scroll down to the recipe card.

Light beige bread dough in a metal bowl with a wooden spoon. — Mix the dough.

A ball of kneaded dough in a mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment. — Knead the dough.

A large risen dough in a metal bowl partially covered by a black and white linen. — Let it rise.

A hand squeezing roasted garlic cloves into a bowl. — Squeeze out the roasted cloves.

A hand patting chopped olives on a plate with a paper towel. — Pat the olives dry.

A hand spreading out garlic paste and chopped olives with a spoon onto bread dough. — Press the dough in a rectangle & spread the garlic paste & olives.

A hand holding a corner of a large rectangle of dough covered in mashed garlic and chopped olives. — Spread the dough & add more garlic & olives.

A hand scoring an oval loaf of dough on parchment paper. — Turn out onto parchment paper, score, and bake the loaf.

A head of garlic on foil topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper. — Roast the garlic.

A hand mixing squished roasted garlic cloves with olive oil. — Mash the garlic with olive oil.

A hand mixing chopped olives in flour with a spoon in a bowl. — Toss them in flour.

A hand holding a corner of a rectangle of olive bread dough on a marble surface. — Fold the dough in thirds, being careful not to tear it.

A loaf of olive bread in a proofing basket on a light surface. — Fold the dough again, shape it, and let it proof.

A scored and baked loaf of olive bread on a red linen on a wood board. — Cool for at least an hour before slicing & enjoying!

Carissa's Bread Corner

As you shape your loaf, if any olives get exposed on the surface, gently push them in or down underneath the loaf so they don't burn.

My Secrets for Olive Bread That's Flavorful (Not Salty)

I tested this recipe by rinsing the olives in water, but that diluted their flavor. Just a quick pat with a paper towel does the trick to remove excess moisture.
Don't skip tossing the olives in a little flour. This prevents them from creating wet pockets or sinking to the bottom of the loaf.
I recommend roughly chopping the olives, since minced olives were too small to pack the punch of the flavor that I was going for.

Slices of olive and garlic-filled rustic bread on a wooden cutting board.

Roasted Garlic and Olive Bread

developed & tested by:

Carissa Erzen

This Dutch oven olive bread has a crispy crust, soft crumb, and pockets of savory in every bite from roasted garlic paste and chopped kalamata olives folded into the dough.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 20

Rise Time 2

Total Time 3 40

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings slices (1 loaf)

Calories 193 kcal

Equipment

Dutch oven

Ingredients

Roasted Garlic Paste

1 head of garlic
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Olive Bread

4½ cups all purpose flour
2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1½ teaspoons salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
2 teaspoons onion powder
1½ cups warm water (between 105°F and 110°F)
⅓ cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped

Instructions

Make the Garlic Paste

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Cut the top ½-inch (1.25 cm) off the head of garlic, to expose the cloves inside. Remove any of the loose papery skin, but leave the whole bulb intact.
Place the head of garlic cut-side-up on a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle 2 teaspoons (9 g) of the olive oil on top slowly, allowing it to seep down in between the cloves. Sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon (a pinch) of salt and black pepper.
Wrap the garlic tightly in the aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the garlic cloves are soft and golden brown.
Cool for a few minutes, then squeeze the bottom of the garlic bulb so the cloves pop out into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon (14 g) of olive oil and mash it with a fork until it forms a thick paste. Set aside.

Make the Bread Dough

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, active dry yeast, salt, and onion powder.
Add the warm water and mix until it forms a shaggy (somewhat stiff) dough.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5-7 minutes by hand or 4-5 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or dinner plate and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in size, after about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Fill, Shape, & Bake

Prep the olives: Pat the olives dry with paper towels, and toss them in a bowl with one teaspoon of flour. (This prevents them from sinking or creating wet pockets.)
On a lightly floured surface, spread out the dough into a rectangle, about ½-inch (1.25 cm) thick. Gently spread out half of the cooled roasted garlic paste and half of the flour-coated olives on top.
Fold the bread in thirds, like a letter so it forms a smaller rectangle. Gently press it out to about ½-inch (1.25 cm) thick again. Spread the remaining half of the garlic paste and olives on top. Fold it in thirds like a letter again. (This will distribute the garlic & olives more evenly).
Gently shape the bread into a ball and create tension by gently pushing the top of the dough from the center, down the sides, and underneath. Try not to tear the dough, to avoid any olives being exposed on the surface.
Place the dough seam-side-up in a proofing basket or shallow bowl lined with a kitchen towel & dusted with a little flour. Cover with a towel & allow it to proof for 30 minutes, or until an indentation made by your finger into the dough springs back after 2-3 seconds.
While the dough proofs, place a Dutch oven with the lid on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat it to 450°F (230°C).
Transfer the proofed loaf seam-side-down onto a large piece of parchment paper sprinkled with a little flour or cornmeal. Remove the hot Dutch oven from the preheated oven and carefully transfer the dough by the corners of the parchment paper into the Dutch oven.
Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crispy. Allow the bread to cool on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Notes

Olives: You can swap in green Castelvetrano olives for a sweeter, buttery flavor or Niçoise olives for an even richer flavor. Just don't use black olives, which are too bland in this bread.
Storing: Allow your loaf to cool completely before storing in a paper bag or wrapped in a linen towel.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice (of 12)Calories: 193kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 377mgPotassium: 70mgFiber: 2gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 16IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 2mg

Keyword dutch oven bread, olive bread

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