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Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives

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Olives and cheese are a great pair for snacking, and they work just as well together in this bread. It’s great on its own in a breadbasket, and it makes a wonderful sandwich bread.

I like to use this bread for croutons, whether on salads or just for snacking, or for crostini. Since the cheese can melt out of the bread while you’re oven-toasting it, use a silicone baking mat on the baking sheet. The cheese will still melt, but it won’t stick to the pan and burn.

Store this bread in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup room temperature
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • I tablespoon sugar
  • 3 cups (131/2 ounces) bread flour, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 4 ounces Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 4 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into ¼-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped Kalamata olives, well drained
  • Nonstick baking spray

Instructions

On Prep Day

  1. Combine the water, yeast, sugar, flour, salt and cream cheese in a stand mixer and knead with the dough hook until smooth. You can also mix the ingredients in a large bowL, then knead by hand.
  2. When the dough is smooth, flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Add the Cheddar, Swiss, and olives, and knead them in. At first, the olives will make the dough fed wet and slick, but if you continue kneading, the dough will incorporate the ingredients.
  3. Return the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in size, about I hour in a warm room.
  4. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with baking spray.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a rough 8-inch square. Fold the top half to about the middle of the dough and press the edge down to secure it. Fold the top over again, this time to within about an inch or so of the bottom. Press the edge to seal. Now pull the bottom of the dough up to meet the dough roll you’ve created and seal the seam. Pinch the ends dosed. If there are cubes of cheese poking all the way through the dough, push them in and pinch the bole dosed. Place the dough, seam side down, in the prepared loaf pan.
  6. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or place the whole pan in a large plastic bag and tie the open end shut. Refrigerate the bread overnight or up to 24 hours before baking.

On Baking Day

  1. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 325°F.
  2. Remove the plastic and bake the bread until it is nicely browned and the internal temperature reaches 195°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 50 minutes. Transfer the bread to a rack and cool completely before slicing.

Tip

While this recipe calls for Kalamata olives, you can use any pitted olives you like–or a mix.

Make sure the olives are well drained, or you’ll be adding extra liquid to the dough.

Source: Make Ahead Bread by Donna Currie

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives. The Finished Product.

Ready for the oven

Ready for the oven

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives Rolled for baking

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives Rolled for baking

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives rolling out the dough

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives rolling out the dough

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives punching the dough down.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives punching the dough down.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives punching the dough down.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives punching the dough down.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives after kneeding.

Three Cheese Bread with Kalamata Olives after kneeding.

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