The Greek word eliopsomo translates to olive (elia) bread (psomi). Homemade bread is the ultimate comfort food. The addition of olives makes this a festive bread that is perfect for entertaining.
Homemade bread is easier to make than one would imagine. With a few pieces of kitchen equipment, you could very easily make bakery-quality bread at home.
Here are my bread making essentials:
- A cast iron skillet is placed on the bottom rack of the oven (while it’s preheating) and as soon as the bread goes in, cold water is carefully poured into the hot pan to create steam. The steam is what creates that bakery-style crust on the exterior of the loaf of bread. Don’t forget to remove the skillet from the oven and season it after the bread is made so that it does not rust.
- A pizza stone or oven tiles. Replicating the high heat of bakery ovens at home is impossible but, keeping clay oven tiles or a good quality pizza stone in your oven will yield the best results. I measure my oven racks and then either buy a thick pizza stone or have my local tile shop cut tiles to fit on my rack. I always leave them in the oven (even when I run the automatic clean cycle. Removing them from the oven causes them to break or crack.
- A stand mixer is not absolutely necessary, but it does make life so much easier. Kneading dough by hand can take up to 15 minutes and will sometimes keep me from making homemade bread.
Here’s a link to my favorite bread making essentials. Purchasing anything from my affiliate links helps support my work without any additional cost to you. Thank you!
This bread is delicious with some herbs and olives but, you can get creative and add your favorite fillings in here. Feta cheese, caramelized onions, and sundried tomatoes all pair well with olives. Use one or add them all! It’s up to you.
There are so many reasons to love this bread. It’s not just delicious, it’s also a great recipe for entertaining. Just make a batch or two of this bread and serve it with your favorite cheeses, olives and dips to create a delicious board. Easy peasy! Olive bread also makes for the perfect holiday gift. Place a loaf in a basket along with a spread or two and bring it to a friend’s home as a thoughtful homemade hostess gift.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know what you think!
Eliopsomo: Greek Olive Bread
The Greek word eliopsomo translates to olive (elia) bread (psomi). Homemade bread is the ultimate comfort food. The addition of olives makes this a festive bread that is perfect for entertaining.
Ingredients
- The Wet Ingredients:
- • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- • 2 teaspoons sugar
- • 1 and 1/2 cups tepid water
- • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- The Dry Ingredients:
- • 2 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
- • 2 cups (320 grams) bread flour
- • 1 teaspoon salt
- • 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for filling
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 cups pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- Optional filling ingredients:
- • Sundried tomatoes, chopped
- • Caramelized onions
- • Crumbled feta cheese
- • Fresh herbs
- Sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
Combine the wet ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and set aside for 8 minutes or until the yeast is activated. As soon as a foamy cloud appears on top of the liquid the yeast is active. If this does not happen, discard the mixture and start over with a fresh batch of yeast.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Add them to the yeast mixture along with 1.4 cup olive oil and the rosemary. Knead on low speed for 8 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in the warmest part of your home for 1-2 hours or until doubled in volume.
Place the dough on a clean work surface and cut it into 4 pieces. Stretch each piece of dough as much as possible without tearing. Approximately 10 inches in diameter. Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil on 3 of the dough circles and distribute the olives evenly on top of each piece. Stack the pieces of dough on top of each other and form into a ball by bringing all of the ends towards the center.
Preheat oven to 500 °F, 260 °C.
Place a cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven and a pizza stone on the center rack to preheat.
Place the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 20 minutes.
Brush the top of the dough with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cut 4-5 slits on the top of the dough and place it on the center rack of the oven.
Reduce the oven’s temperature to 450 °F, 230 °C
Carefully pour 1 and ½ cups ice-cold water into the cast iron skillet to create steam in the oven. This will create a bakery-style crust on the bread.
Bake for 30 minutes. Place the bread directly onto the pizza stone for 5 more minutes.
Allow the bread to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!
I make this bread at least once a week. We love it! The texture is perfect and it is so easy to make. I have used olives, sundried tomatoes , artichoke hearts, red bell pepper and caramelized onions. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hello Dimitra!
I absolutely love this bread. I’ve made it several times and I just had to let you know how wonderful I found this recipe.
I am surprised your YouTube channel hasn’t got over 1 million subscribers. I subcribed to your channel years ago and I try most of your recipes and they are great.
I live in Melbourne Australia and I am Greek, married to an Irish man. I have converted his taste to absolutely loving Greek food.
My parents died when I was young and I didn’t get to learn a lot of Greek recipes.
I find you extremely real and honest and just love catching up with you to view your latest dish.
I admire you for your hard work and dedication expecially as a mother of 5 children.
Thank you for teaching us what you know.
I wish you and your family all the best in everything you do.
Warm regards,
Sevasti
Hi Sevasti,
Thank you very much for your heartfelt message. I’m so glad that you’re enjoying my recipes and sharing them with your loved ones. Love and best wishes, Dimitra xx
Is it ok to use just Bread flour? and if so, How much?
Thank you
Absolutely! You can use all bread flour and if you do, reduce the kneading time to 8 minutes. Enjoy!
Hi Dimitra! I am about to try your wonderful bread recipe, but I would like to do it “overnight.” May I leave the dough overnight on the counter to rise and bake the bread next morning? If so, would the recipe change? Thank you and blessings.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
This bread is so yummy. Love this recipe and soooo easy!
Dear Dimitra!
I have NEVER written to anyone regarding a recipe that I found on the internet. However, your recipe for the “Eliopsomo: Greek Olive Bread” was beyond wonderful. I make bread at least once a week and am always trying new recipes. I love challenges and yeast breads are at the top of my list of favorites. And I especially like making bread for my friends – for gifts, for dinners we are invited to and – really – just because I love them.
In all, perhaps I have made about 40 different recipes over the years (and have designated, maybe only 1/2 of those as my favorites). Today I located your recipe for Greek Olive Bread very early in the morning and decided to give it a try. I have made other Olive Bread recipes in the past (maybe 4 different recipes) but none of them – not one – has come close to how wonderful your bread is. In fact, your recipe for Olive Bread ranks in the top 5 of EVERY bread recipe I have ever made.
So, thank you for this wonderful gift. The bread turned out perfectly – it is beautiful to look at and – most especially – the taste is absolutely terrific. I just can’t wait to try the other recipes that are on your website!!!
Dearest Dimitra. YOU ARE a LEGEND!
For many years, I have searched unsuccessfully, high and low for an ELIOPSOMI recipe. I have been to and tried countless bakeries and shops both in the UK and back home and have never found anything even close to that which my late Yiayia used to make. Yesterday I followed your “Recipe” to the letter and the results were incredible to the point where a tear was shed as for that moment I felt that Yiayia had once again been baking.
The recipe was incredibly easy to follow with results that can only be described as truly amazing.
THANK YOU
PS I wish there was an option to give you more than 5 stars
Your message brought such a big smile to my face and truly touched my heart! I’m so honored that my Eliopsomi recipe helped you reconnect with the memories of your beloved Yiayia. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of recreating a cherished family recipe, and I’m so happy to have played a part in bringing that experience to life for you.
Thank you for your kind words—they mean the world to me! I’m so glad the recipe was easy to follow and that it brought you such joy. It’s moments like these that make cooking such a beautiful way to honor those who came before us.
Sending you lots of love and gratitude. I’m thrilled to be a small part of your journey to recreate those precious family flavors.
Hello, I’m going to try and make your olive bread but my oven only goes up to 240 degrees c, what would you suggest with cooking times settings please.
Thank you
Hi Linda. That setting will work for this recipe. I’ve noticed that the ovens bake at a higher temp while I’m in Greece even though the temperature setting is lower. Enjoy the bread! xxDimitra
Hi! Great recipe. Will this work if I use “00 style” flour instead of the All Purpose flour? I have bread flour but not AP flour. I can’t wait to try this version of olive bread. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Yes, you can use “00” flour or bread flour instead of all-purpose flour for the olive bread, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
– **Texture**: “00” flour is finely milled and has a lower protein content than bread flour, so it will yield a softer, more tender crumb. It’s a great choice if you want a lighter texture.
– **Bread Flour**: If you use bread flour, the higher protein content may make the dough slightly chewier, which works well for bread like this. Just make sure to knead the dough well to develop the gluten.
– **Hydration Adjustment**: Bread flour absorbs more liquid, so you may need to add a tablespoon or two of extra water if the dough feels too stiff. With “00” flour, you likely won’t need to adjust the water.
Both options will work, so use what you have and enjoy! Let me know how it turns out. 😊