Greek Olive Bread (Elioti)

Elioti, sometimes called eliopsomo, is genuinely everyday Greek bread, an olive oil-enriched dough studded generously with chopped black olives kneaded right through it, rather than merely scattered on top, so every slice carries little pockets of salty, briny olive throughout.

The dough itself is simple, enriched with a good amount of olive oil which gives it a softer, more tender crumb than a plain white loaf, and this richness is really what makes elioti satisfying enough to eat on its own, without butter or any accompaniment at all.

Good, meaty black olives, pitted and roughly chopped rather than left whole, distribute their flavour through the dough far more evenly than whole olives would, and this is worth doing properly rather than rushing.

Key preparation steps

1. Make a soft, olive oil-enriched dough.
2. Knead in plenty of chopped pitted olives.
3. Prove until doubled.
4. Bake until deeply golden.

The dough

Mix flour, yeast, salt, a good amount of olive oil and warm water into a soft, slightly sticky dough, kneading for a good ten minutes until smooth and elastic. The olive oil is what gives elioti its characteristic soft, tender crumb, so do not be tempted to reduce it.

Adding the olives

Pit and roughly chop good, meaty black olives, then knead them through the dough once it has come together, distributing them as evenly as you can so every slice gets a fair share, rather than clumping them in one section.

Proving and baking

Prove the dough, covered, in a warm spot for about an hour, until doubled in size, then shape into a round or oblong loaf and prove again briefly before baking in a hot oven until deeply golden and hollow-sounding when tapped on the base.

What matters in this dish