Olive and Rosemary Bread Roll Recipe

I've been craving Olive and Rosemary bread for a while now. Not sure if it's a pregnancy related craving or the fact that I love my carbs. Give me freshly baked warm bread and haloumi cheese over chocolate cake any day. Today I finally got the chance to make it and it was delicious, if I do say so myself. It was also fairly quick, easy, and no fancy breadmaker required.

I scoured the internet for recipes, but in the end I used bits and pieces from various recipes to come up with my own version. The rolls turned out crusty on the outside and soft in the inside.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of warm water
• 5 cups of flour - I used plain unbleached flour, no need for anything fancy
• 1 sachet of quick acting yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar (this helps to activate the yeast)
• 1/2 tablespoon of table salt
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons (more or less, up to you) chopped rosemary 
• A little bit of olive oil to brush on the bread rolls before baking (optional)

How to

Makes:10 rolls  ~  Active time:20mins  ~  Rest time:1hr 15mins  ~  Baking time:25mins

• Mix the warm water, sugar and yeast together and leave for 5 minutes to activate the yeast (you know it's ready when the water bubbles).
• Put 4 cups of flour (reserve 1 cup for later) and the salt in a bowl and start pouring in the water mixture. Mix to combine.
• Add the chopped olives and rosemary and on a floured surface start kneading the dough for 5-10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky, so start adding in the extra cup of flour you'd reserved until you end up with a tacky but not completely sticky consistency.
• Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave for 45-60 minutes to rise. The dough should almost double in size. 
• Once risen, with floured hands start making your bread rolls. I made 10. 
• Put the bread rolls on baking trays lined with baking paper. I didn't have baking paper, so I just floured the tray instead which worked just as well. 
• Brush with a little bit of olive oil as that helps it get golden. Leave for another 15 minutes for the rolls to rise a bit more.
• Bake in oven preheated to 230C (450F) for 25 minutes or until golden. 
• Take out of oven, let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

Bon apetit!