Olive Sourdough Bread with Garlic & Black Pepper

This olive sourdough bread combines briny olives, garlic, and black pepper for a subtle peppery kick in a tender, chewy loaf.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Fermentation Time 8

In a large bowl, add 350g of room temperature water and whisk in 100g of active sourdough starter until mostly combined.
Dump 500g unbleached bread flour on top of the sourdough starter blend. Using a danish dough whisk, spatula, or spoon mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the dry bits are incorporated.
Sprinkle 6g of salt across the surface of the dough.Cover the bowl and set aside for 60 minutes.

Prior to the first stretch and fold, dice 9-10 of stuffed olives (about 100g), finely dice 7-8 cloves of garlic (about 25g). Dimple the dough in your bowl, then spread the prepared olives and garlic across the surface of the dough. Sprinkle 4g of coarse ground black pepper across the dough.
Using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times. This is considered 1 set of stretch and folds.
Recover the bowl and let the dough rest for 60 minutes. After that, perform the stretch and fold at least two more times, each followed by a rest between 45 and 60 minutes.

Complete a fourth and final stretch and fold then cover the bowl and set aside for 2 hours to finish the bulk ferment.

Observe your dough, at this point, the dough should have risen in the bowl, and have a smooth surface with visible bubbles. If the dough is domed in the bowl it is ready to work with, if the dough is flat it may need more time in the bulk ferment.
Uncover the dough and transfer to a floured work surface or countertop. Gently press and spread the dough into a large rectangle. Fold up the bottom third of the dough as though you were folding a letter, then fold in the right then left bottom corner towards the center. Continue rolling up into a batard or log shape. Cover with a kitchen towel or inverted bowl and rest for 30 minutes.
After the rest, pick up the dough with a dough scraper and flip it over, gently press the dough flat then roll it again.
Pinch the ends if you’re making a batard or tuck them in if your making a boule. Dust the dough with rice flour then tuck seam side up into a banneton.

Prove the olive sourdough loaf in the banneton for 2-3 hours in a warm place before covering and placing in fridge to cold retard for up to 3 days. If you want to bake it right after proving, you’re welcome to, but the flavor is better after resting in the fridge.

Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f.
Once the oven is preheated, invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough.
Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
Bake the dough at 450f covered for 30 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 10-15 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and the crust is nicely browned. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

Remove baked olive garlic bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.

Expert Tips

I’ve reduced the salt level in this recipe to compensate for the salt content in the olive brine, so you'll notice that it's lower than usual.
Handle the dough gently during the shaping process because the olive chunks and garlic pieces are quite firm and can easily tear your dough. I’ve included a step by step photo guide below to show my process when shaping!
My bulk fermentation and dough proofing is done at 70-ish degrees fahrenheit, but if you’re in a warm place, your rising times will need to be shortened.
This recipe calls for bread flour, but that can be substituted with a high protein all purpose flour at a 1:1 ratio, though the bread may not rise as high and the dough may seem a bit wetter to work with. If you’re wanting to use whole wheat flour, I’d recommend subbing out no more than 50-75 grams and only if you’re using bread flour.