Briny olives and salty, nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are the perfect inclusion duo for a tangy artisan sourdough loaf.

I first attempted this recipe at the request of my mother-in-law, who absolutely loves a good olive loaf.

And I can now confirm it is mother-in-law approved.

Olive Parmesan Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe

If you want to follow my process step-by-step, I’ve outlined it all here.

If you already have an artisan sourdough recipe you swear by, just add the inclusions during your second set of stretch and folds; I recommend laminating the dough and adding the inclusions to build some extra gluten early on.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Salty, tangy, and savory: this flavor profile is insanely delicious. If you’re a salty snack craver, this is your dream sourdough loaf.
olive parmesan sourdough 5
  • Perfect for pairing with a nice bread dipping oil: I set this bread out with a dipping oil I whipped up (olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and some chopped sun-dried tomatoes), and it was all gone in 30 minutes flat.
  • Almost exactly the same as making a regular artisan loaf: this inclusion addition is super simple and will feel almost the same as making a plain sourdough loaf.
olive parmesan sourdough 8

Sourdough Bread Timeline

Here’s a sample timeline to help you plan out your bake.

Day 1
Before bedFeed your starter (1:5:5 ratio is best for overnight but experiment with your starter in your environment to nail it down)
Day 2
8 amMix flour, water, and starter (this starts the bulk fermentation)
9 amAdd salt and knead well
9:30 amStretch and folds #1
10 amLaminate the dough and add inclusions
10:30 amStretch and fold or coil fold #3
11 amStretch and fold or coil fold #4
1-4 pmDo the float test each hour; when the dough floats, bulk fermentation is likely done (more pointers in the recipe card)
4 pmPre-shape dough
4:30-5 pmFinal shape, put in bannetons, and refrigerate overnight
Day 3
7 amPreheat Dutch oven to 450°F/230°C
8 amScore and bake the dough
11 amLet the bread cool; now, enjoy the bread!

Ingredients

  • Bread flour: King Arthur unbleached bread flour (12.7% protein) does the heavy lifting in this recipe. If your flour has a different protein percentage, you may need to adjust the amount of water.
  • Whole wheat flour: Adding a touch of whole wheat flour adds nice flavor and a bit of nutrition. It also makes the starter happy!
  • Active starter: You’ll need a ripe sourdough starter to leaven this dough. Make sure your starter is happy and healthy – ideally, triple in size when it’s peaked.

Related: Is My Sourdough Starter Ready to Bake With? How I Can Tell

  • Warm water: You’ll want lukewarm water – water over 120°F may kill your sourdough starter. Cold water will prevent your dough from rising at a normal pace. Also, I use water straight from my faucet. I live in the country and have well water; I’ve never had any issues. However, I’ve seen others recommend using filtered water.
  • Salt: I use coarse Kosher salt. I definitely want to experiment with pink Himalayan salt, too. Just try to avoid salt with anti-caking agents. It can impact your dough!
  • Olives: I love the visual contrast of green and purple olives, but you can use any kind you like!
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: I don’t skimp on my parmesan cheese anymore. If you can help it, don’t use the dust in the green container – buy a real wedge of authentic parmigiano reggiano and grate it. The flavor difference is astounding.

Need more inclusion ideas? Check out: 41 Sourdough Inclusion Ideas: Add-Ins You Should Try

Olive Parmesan Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe

Recipe by Rebekah ParrCourse: BreadCuisine: Bread, SourdoughDifficulty: Easy
Servings

1

loaf
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

45

minutes


A savory masterpiece that brings together the rich, briny flavor of olives and the nutty, salty kick of authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano. Perfect for dipping in olive oil or serving alongside a hearty charcuterie board. Plus, by adding the olives and cheese during an early lamination process, you’ll not only infuse your loaf with layers of flavor but also develop extra gluten early on for a better oven spring and crumb.

Ingredients

  • 450g King Arthur bread flour (12.7% protein)*

  • 50g King Arthur whole wheat flour (13.2% protein)

  • 75g active starter (100% hydration)

  • 375g warm water

  • 10g sea salt

  • Inclusions
  • 130g olives, I like a mix of green (castelvetrano) and purple (kalamata) 

  • 75g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

Directions

  • Feed Your Starter
  • You need 75g of active starter for this recipe, so I suggest preparing 100g (some will stick to the sides of the jar, and you can feed the leftovers for your next recipe).

    Use my feeding ratio calculator to decide how much starter, flour, and water to use for your ideal timeframe. I like doing 9g starter, 45g water, and 45g flour before bed, which allows me to start this bread recipe when I wake up.
  • Mix Your Dough
  • Using a dough whisk, combine both flours, warm water, and active starter together.
    Optional: you can opt to do an autolyse by mixing just the flour and water and letting it rest for 30 minutes, up to overnight. Then, add the starter and proceed with the next step.
  • Let the flour, water, and starter rest for about an hour. Then, add the salt and knead well (up to 5 minutes if your arms can take it). Let rest for 30 minutes.
  • Strengthen Your Dough (Stretch & Folds/Coil Folds)
  • Perform a set of stretch and folds or coil folds on your dough. Continue until the dough is tight and resists any further handling. Cover and let rest another 30 minutes.
  • Laminate the dough on your work surface by stretching it out into a large, thin rectangle. Evenly disperse the olives and parmigiano reggiano cheese over the stretched dough. To shape this back into a ball, fold the right side over to the center, then fold the left side over the right to the center. Roll up the dough and using a candy cane motion with your hands, roll it into a taut ball. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
  • Perform a set of coil folds on your dough. Continue until the dough is tight and resists any further handling. Cover and let rest another 30 minutes.
  • Optional: if your dough is not yet passing the windowpane test (when stretched thin, you can see light through the dough without it tearing), perform another set of coil folds.
  • Finish Bulk Fermentation
  • Once strengthening is completed, wait until the dough has finished its bulk fermentation.

    There are several ways to gauge when this is done:
    1) Follow The Sourdough Journey’s dough temping & percentage rise chart (i.e: if your dough is 75°F, let it rise 50% before moving on to shaping)
    2) Perform the float test on your dough; once it floats, move on to shaping (more info about that in here)
    3) Look at the dough – it should form a dome with the dough moving away from the sides of the bowl. There are bubbles forming underneath the surface. It should be visually larger, puffier, and have a smooth surface. When you touch it, it’s light, airy, and puffy. In my 75°F home, this usually takes about 7 hours – that timeline starts as soon as the starter is mixed into the dough, by the way.
  • Pre-Shape and Shape
  • Dump the dough out of its bowl or container onto a clean work surface. Do not use flour. If needed, mist your hands and work surface with water to prevent any sticking. However, properly fermented dough should not be overly sticky at this point.
  • Using a bench scraper, gently coerce the blob of dough into a round. Use a candy cane motion to push the dough ball up, around, and back down again. This creates tension on the surface of the dough. When finished, cover with a tea towel or cheesecloth and let rest for 30-60 minutes.
  • Complete the final shaping.

    For a boule: Stretch dough into a circle, fold sides to center, pull top down, tuck and drag to build tension, and place in banneton seam side up.
    For a batard: Stretch dough into a circle, fold sides to center, roll from top down, place in banneton seam side up. You can also try the caddy clasp, my new preferred shaping method!
  • Put shaped dough in a floured banneton and cover. Refrigerate overnight, ideally 12-18 hours, but up to 4 days is fine.
  • Score & Bake
  • Preheat oven to 450°F with Dutch oven inside. Transfer dough to parchment, score, and place in Dutch oven.
  • Bake with lid on for 30 minutes. Remove lid, lower temperature to 425°F, and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing.
    olive parmesan sourdough 7

Notes

  • *There is wiggle room in this recipe for substituting flours. Feel free to substitute bread flour for the all-purpose flour. I like having a little whole wheat flour in the recipe to give more nutrition to the sourdough starter, but you could omit that and add more bread or all-purpose flour in its place.

Conclusion

This flavor combination is one of my favorites – it’s tangy, briney, and salty. It’s so savory and pairs well with any kind of cheese board or dipping oil.

olive parmesan sourdough 4

If you make this, let me know what you think!

Related: Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Sourdough Bread Recipe

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