The Weekend Kitchen

This weekend saw me continue to make the most of food we have on hand instead of going shopping.  We has a small amount of a beef tagine leftovers frozen in the freezer which was a lot of sauce and not a lot of meat.  I decided that it really needed something to go with it to bulk up the meal that would also soak up the juices.  Normally I would have used couscous but I decided instead to go for a Olive and Thyme Bread and it was a winner.  I made a half batch of the below recipe but I should have made the full recipe as the bread did not last long at all.

Olive and Thyme Bread

3 Cups Bread Flour , plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 Cups Warm Water
1/2 Cup Chopped Black Olives
3 TBS Olive Oil
3 TBS Fresh Thyme or 2 Tsp Dried Thyme
1 TBS Dried Yeast
1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt

Mix the dried yeast with 5 TBS of the warm water and the sugar and leave 10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
Once the yeast mix is frothy add the rest of the water, salt, olive oil  and thyme and mix to combine.
Add the flour gradually and mix to combine.  The dough will be quite sticky and once all the flour is incorporated add the olives and mix them through.
Cover and leave the mix to rise somewhere warm for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes take the dough out of the bowl and tip onto a floured bench and knead adding flour as you go until the dough is soft and no longer sticky.
Shape into loaves and transfer onto a baking tray lined with baking paper or into an oiled bread tin.
Leave to rise again until double in size.
Heat your oven to 220 degrees and once your bread has risen bake for 30 minutes or until cooked.