64/1038 - Olive bread

It was a special day of cooking for me today as I have recently acquired a second copy of The Cook's Companion. My original version is now all but completely destroyed, covered in food spatters and hanging precariously from it's spine. My new addition is in near perfect condition and belonged to a dear friend of mine. I will continue to use my old version for cooking but will take great pleasure in gently handling my new, treasured version as I scan the book for prospective dinners and treats.

We have been watching our carb intake over the past two weeks in the lead up to a friend's wedding, and so bread was always destined to be on the menu today. I used the Thermomix for kneading but think I may have had it on the wrong setting. Rather than kneading my dough, it chopped up all of my lovely pieces of olive which created a bit of a disaster as the juices were released into the dough. A few handfuls of flour later I had rescued my dough and set it in a bowl to prove. A special thank you to Craig and Kate for the lovely Milawa olives!

Once proved, the bread had to be shaped and then laid in a tea towel to allow it to rise again. Another near disaster ensued as I rolled the dough from the tea towel onto the oven tray, which had to be in the oven and heated through before the bread was put in. As I rolled the bread in, I knocked the tray off the oven shelf, not once but three times. It's fair to say that the innocent ears of my children may have been slightly tainted today.

All's well that ends well. The bread is really lovely and I can feel a "pappa al pomodoro" coming on for dinner.