Sourdough bread is even more delicious when it's loaded with briny olives, crunchy walnuts and sweet roasted garlic!
This olive and walnut sourdough bread can be served alongside soups or enjoyed as a hearty snack all on it's own!
I'm giving you fair warning, you won't be able to eat just one slice of this olive and walnut sourdough bread.
Not only is it beautiful to look at, but every bite is filled with exciting flavors and textures for a truly unique sourdough experience. It is INSANELY delicious!
This is our basic sourdough country loaf recipe with the addition of olives, walnuts, roasted garlic and dried basil, which are added to the dough in the second set of stretch and folds.
Mix this dough up in the morning and you'll be enjoying it at supper time!
Let's get to mixing!
Step by step instructions
This is a super easy sourdough recipe. Let's take a look at the steps!
- Sourdough Starter - Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before you plan to mix your dough so that it's bubbly and active.
- Autolyse - Use your hands to mix the flour, sourdough starter and water in a large bowl until there are no dry bits. Cover and let rest 1 hour.
- Add salt - Add the salt to the dough and work it in using your hands until well combined. Cover and let rest 1 hour.
- Bulk fermentation - Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart, over the first hour and a half. Add the olives, walnuts, roasted garlic and dried basil to the dough during the second set of stretch and folds. Cover the dough and allow to ferment at room temperature for an additional 2-3 hours.
- Shape and Second Rise - Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a rough ball. (It will not be smooth). Flour the top of the dough and place in proving basket, top-side down. Allow to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or until it has risen about 20%-30%.
- Score and bake - Preheat oven. Score the loaf, spritz lightly with water and bake.
Tips for success
PREPARE SOURDOUGH STARTER
The optimal time to mix your sourdough bread dough is when your sourdough starter is at it's peak of activity.
Count how many hours it takes for your starter to peak after you feed it and use that information to adjust your baking schedule.
TIPS ON SHAPING THE LOAF
Normally, when shaping sourdough for the final rise, the dough would be shaped twice. However, this dough is shaped once.
After dumping the dough onto a floured surface, flour the dough and use your hands to twist it on the surface to form a rough shaped ball. Use a bench scraper to pick the dough up and turn it over into the floured proving basket.
After you shape the dough into a ball for the final rise, it will be rugged and lumpy in appearance, which is different from the sourdough country loaf.
Do not worry that the surface of the dough does not have a taut skin. This will be a much more "rustic" looking loaf that the original country loaf.
Tips for baking in warm and/or high humidity areas - When baking in high humidity and/or warmer areas, it's often a good practice to use less water and bake a little longer than the recipe calls for. Reduce the water by 50 grams in the initial mix and then slowly add the remaining water until you achieve the correct hydration level. Bake the bread about 5-10 minutes longer with the lid on, remove the lid and bake until done. This will take some trial and error!
Don't have a kitchen scale to measure flour?
Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
Because flour is measured by weight in these recipes, if the flour is scooped straight out of the bag with the measuring cup, there will be more flour than is called for in the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
Green pre-sliced manzanilla olives with pimentos are perfect in this bread. Kalamata or black olives work great too.
If you don't have any garlic on hand, you can omit it without compromising the taste of the final loaf. It is a delicious enhancement, but nothing to worry about if you have all the other ingredients and don't want to run to the store.
If you are looking for proving baskets, you can find the kind I use in our Kitchen Essentials list, along with other items you may need.
If you live at a high altitude, 5,000-11,500 feet above sea level, you will need to use a sourdough recipe developed for high altitude baking for best results. Visit Butter and Air for their expertise on high altitude sourdough.
Sample baking schedule
- 8 PM: Feed sourdough starter.
- 8 AM: Mix flour, water and starter. Cover and let rest 1 hour. Roast garlic and set aside for later.
- 9 AM: Mix in salt and remaining water. Cover and let rest 1 hour.
- 10 AM: Perform first set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
- 10:30 AM: Add olives, walnuts, roasted garlic and dried herbs. Perform second set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
- 11 AM: Perform third set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest 2.5 hours. (Kitchen temperature is 70°F)
- 1:30 PM: Dump dough onto floured surface, rough shape into a ball, place in floured proving basket. Cover and let rise 2.5 hours.
- 4 PM: Preheat oven, score and bake.
How to store and freeze
Store your bread at room temperature, wrapped in a kitchen towel or beeswax wrap. You can also store the bread, slice down, on a cutting board with a cake stand top covering the bread.
It is not recommended to store sourdough bread in the fridge as it will become hard.
Freeze full loaves or individual slices wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and inserted into a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Other recipes you may like:
- sourdough focaccia with rosemary and garlic
- sourdough pizza crust
- honey wheat sourdough sandwich bread
- sourdough discard crackers
- jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread
We'd love to hear from you! Give us a shout out in the comment section below. And don't forget to rate our recipe if you try it!
Olive and Walnut Sourdough Bread Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients to make ½ cup (100 g) of Active Sourdough Starter
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) sourdough starter
- â…“ cup + 1 tablespoon (50 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ tablespoons (50 g) water
Sourdough Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) active sourdough starter
- 1 ½ cups (360 g) water (30 grams divided)
- â…“ cup + 1 tablespoon (50 g) whole wheat flour
- 3 ¾ cups (450 g) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) fine sea salt
Add-in Ingredients
- 1 cup (135 g) sliced olives
- 1 cup (120 g) walnuts (rough chopped)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) dried basil
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (for roasted garlic)
INSTRUCTIONS
Feed Your Sourdough Starter
- 12 hours before you plan to mix the dough, add the ingredients to make ½ cup (100 g) of active sourdough starter to a clean jar. Stir until combined, loosely cover the jar and let the starter rise at room temperature. (The ingredients will create a total of 115 g active starter but, because some of it will stick to the sides of the jar during the transfer, we are making a little more than needed.) The sourdough starter is ready to use when it has doubled in size and there are plenty of bubbles on the surface and sides of the jar.
Prepare Add-ins
- Roast garlic: Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Cut the top of the head of garlic off, drizzle with olive oil and loosely wrap in foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool.
- Add the sliced olives, walnuts, roasted garlic and dried basil to a bowl and set aside.
Make the Dough
- Autolyse: In a mixing bowl, combine 330 grams of water and 100 grams active sourdough starter, stir to combine. Add 50 grams whole wheat flour and 450 grams bread flour and use your hands to combine the ingredients until there are no dry bits and the dough looks like a shaggy mass. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest on the counter for 1 hour.
- Add salt: Add 10 grams of salt to the remaining 30 grams of water in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Add the salt water to the dough and use your hands to work it in until well combined. Cover the bowl and let rest on the counter for 1 hour.
- Bulk fermentation - Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart, over the first hour and a half. Add the olives, walnuts, roasted garlic and dried basil to the dough during the second set of stretch and folds. Keep the bowl covered between sets.*To perform a set, while the dough is still in the bowl, pick up one side with a wet hand. Pull it up and over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this action on 4 sides of the dough until the bowl has come full circle. Once finished with the third set of stretch and folds, cover the dough and allow to rise at room temperature for an additional 2-3 hours.
- Shape and Second Rise - Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a rough ball. (It will not be smooth). Flour the top of the dough and place into a floured proving basket, top-side down. Allow to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or until it has risen about 20%-30%.
- Score and Bake: Preheat the oven, with the dutch oven inside, to 500°F (260°C) for 30 minutes.Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and score the top with a razor. Remove the dutch oven and place on stove-top. Use the parchment paper as a sling and lift the dough up and into the dutch oven. Cover, turn oven down to 450°F (232°C) and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until the crust is at the desired color.
- Let the bread cool on a cooling rack for 2 hours before cutting.
NOTES
- Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
- Use large silicone gloves when bread baking to protect hands and forearms from burns.
- During the first rise (bulk fermentation), if your kitchen temperature is warmer than 68°F (20°C), check the dough 2 hours after the last stretch and fold to make sure that it does not over proof. The dough is ready for shaping when it has risen about 30% and has bubbles around the edges of the bowl.
- Let the loaf cool completely before slicing to prevent the crumb from becoming gummy in texture.
- Tips for baking in warm and/or high humidity areas - When baking in high humidity and/or warmer areas, it's often a good practice to use less water and bake a little longer than the recipe calls for. Reduce the water by 50 grams in the initial mix and then slowly add the remaining water until you achieve the correct hydration level. Bake the bread about 5-10 minutes longer with the lid on, remove the lid and bake until done. This will take some trial and error!
- Store your bread at room temperature, wrapped in a kitchen towel or beeswax wrap. You can also store the bread, slice down, on a cutting board with a cake stand top covering the bread. It is not recommended to store sourdough bread in the fridge as it will become hard.
- Freeze full loaves or individual slices wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and inserted into a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Simone says
This bread always comes out amazing with or without the filings! I have made it with olives, walnuts, dried herbs de Provence and chopped garlic and I have also made it without the walnuts and just olives and herbs, or sometimes just chopped olives. Every time it comes out amazing. My kids don’t like sour sourdough so I also use this recipe to make a plain loaf in one day and it’s super easy and mellow tasting because it doesn’t sit overnight in the fridge like the country bread recipe, which is also delicious. Thank you for this recipe Amy!
AG says
This is my go to recipe. Thank you so much-- every recipe we've tried have been easy and delicious. This recipe also works great with that little packet of cranberries &pepitas that come in kale salad. I sometimes just want the greens, so now I have a good use for it if I want a sweet type of bread.
Linda Baker says
Fantastic! So much delicious flavor. I am enjoying trying all your recipes now that I have been successful with the starter, finally 😊. Thank you.
Kristen says
This was the best bread I've ever made! Thanks so much for the recipe, will definitely be making this again!
Shruti says
Loved the recipe.. worked great.. I used black olives so there is a bit of colour in the loaf but nonetheless the taste is great.. every bit is burst of flavours.. just a question, normally my plain sourdough comes with big air pockets and this one is with tiny air pockets but not dense, could the addition of olives n walnuts be the reason.. thanks for the lovely recipe, I have tagged you on IG..
Amy Duska says
Hi Shruti, yes, they kind of take up some of that space 🙂
Elaine says
I'd like to make this recipe but have to work it around my work schedule. If I want to bake it Friday afternoon to bring to friends for dinner, can I prepare it Thursday and leave it in refrigerator over night until about 3 pm Friday afternoon, then bake it? Alternatively, if I end up baking Thursday pm, whats the best way to keep it fresh (i.e., just baked taste/texture) for Friday evening? Thank you for any suggestions - love your recipes!
Amy Duska says
Hi Elaine, yes, put the dough together Thursday and once you get to the final shape, place in the fridge until you are ready to bake. If you bake on a Thursday, let the bread cool completely and then wrap in a kitchen towel or a beeswax wrap. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Bob says
This is a bad and inaccurate sourdough recipe. The walnuts and olive portions are way too much for the 500g loaf of bread. As a result the loaf is heavy and the proportions are not right. Very dissapointed. I wonder if you have tried the recipe I.e it's full proof before posting it.
Amy Duska says
Hi Bob, I'm sorry you didn't like the recipe. Yes, I have tested the recipe with great results.
Aarti says
Hi Amy,
As a first time baker, am a little confused. Starting the olive walnut sourdough now. Please help:
1.My starter is after 7 days of rising ready.
2. So now do I need to make a separate levain this morning (8th day) before I can make the bread?
3. Can I use some raw crushed garlic instead of roasting? (Low on garlic and 6 raw cloves taste =15 roasted ones)
Amy Duska says
HI Aarti! Yes, you need to prepare the levain so that it has doubled in size when you mix the dough. Yes, you can use some raw garlic, it just won't be as sweet as the roasted garlic.
Aarti says
Thanks so much Amy for clarifying. So levain is the same as 7th/8th day starter?
Am so excited to start my sourdough journey- thanks to your recipes on this lovely website! The details the rubberband to mark, measuring by leveling cups etc are really helpful)
Do you think other nuts/seeds like crushed peanuts or sesame can be used in general in sourdough to bake breads?
Amy Duska says
You're welcome! Yes, it's basically the same thing. The levain is what we add to the dough. You prepare the levain by feeding the starter and letting it double. You can use other nut and seeds. Sesame is my favorite to put on the outside of sourdough!
Crystal Bach says
This looks so good!
Because there is no cold fermentation or overnight refrigeration, does this loaf still produce a sour taste?
I am trying to make a super sour tasting loaf and need some tips on the best ratio of warm to cold fermentation is to make this happen!
Thanks,
Crystal
Amy Duska says
Hi Crystal! There's a lot of flavor going on in this loaf! You could put this loaf in the fridge and let it cold ferment after you shape it, to allow the dough to develop more sourdough flavor. 🙂
Crystal B says
Thanks Amy!
Making this right Now.
Can not wait to bake it tomorrow!! Will post a picture on my Instagram. 🙂
Ss says
Can the 450 grams of bread flour be substituted for other flour like millet or even AP flour? Or can I add multiple types to make up 450 grams? (e.g. 200 grams AP, 200 grams Millet or even more whole wheat?)
Amy Duska says
Yes you can use different flours to come up with 450g.