Red Pepper & Olive Bread Recipe

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This deeply flavored Red Pepper Olive Bread Recipe features jarred roasted red peppers and kalamata or green olives. It is perfect for sandwiches, with soup or just as a snack. The roasted red peppers turns this unusual bread a colorful orange while your choice of green or kalamata olives gives this bread a depth of flavor that takes it to another level.

This orange hued bread sits on a white lattice plate with a bottle of calamata olives and roasted red pepper is in the background.

A chewy, tightly textured bread, this bread is perfect to add flavor to any sandwich and is especially welcome filled with roasted vegetables and cheese. Due to the red peppers and a bit of oil, this bread keeps well.

While I show the bread being made in a food processor, it can also be made in a mixer.I include instructions for the mixer below in the Step by Step Instructions.

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Texture of Bread
Instant Yeast or Active dry?
Recipe Ingredients
Key Ingredients
Step by Step Instructions
Recipe FAQ'S
Expert Tips
Other Flavorful Breads to Enjoy
Red Pepper & Olive Bread Recipe

Texture of Bread

When making bread and before it is baked there are a number of different textures that will determine the outcome of the baked bread. Does it have tight crumb or open holes? Does it keep well or should it be eaten the day it is made?

Here are four that are frequently mentioned to help guide you.

Slack - This is the softest texture and has a high water content. It is very loose and wiggly when moved. It has very open holes when baked. Think ciabatta and sour dough breads. These are usually lean breads meaning they contain little more than water, flour, yeast and salt.

Sticky - This texture is often found in rich breads. These breads are enriched with eggs, butter, maybe sour cream or milk. They will be sticky when finished mixing and stick to your hands when initially removed from their mixing bowls. They will not clean the sides of the bowl when mixed. Sweet doughs, most especially brioche, are in this category.

Tacky - These are soft doughs and can be lean or rich doughs. They will clean the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl and while very soft, will barely stick to your hands. Many sweet and savory breads fit into this category.

Firm - Doughs that are firm are usually lean doughs, will definitely clean the sides and bottom of bowls when mixed and will not stick at all to your hands. They have the shortest shelf life and will stale the fastest. They have a lesser ratio of liquid to flour and are best eaten the same day they are baked. These usually have a very tight crumb.

Instant Yeast or Active dry?

The main difference between the two is the size of the granules and the activation of the yeast. Both are dehydrated. The instant yeast has smaller granules and contain more live cells while the active dry yeast has larger granules that require rehydration by soaking in a warm liquid to activate them. The instant also rises faster than the active dry but there is no right or wrong.

While many recipes recommend adding the instant yeast directly into the dry ingredients with no soaking I have found that to be problematic and prefer to add the yeast to the liquid while preparing the remaining ingredients. I noticed when using the instant yeast that sometimes the yeast showed up as little bumps in the unbaked bread.

I use the two interchangeably.

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredients for the Sweet & Hot Red Pepper & Olive Bread include: roasted red peppers, water, yeast, oil, red pepper flakes, bread flour, salt olives, egg white and sesame seeds.

FRONT ROW: Sesame seeds, salt, red pepper flakes (salt again that should be omitted), olive or canola oil

MIDDLE ROW: Egg white, instant yeast, Kalamata olives, water

BACK ROW: Bread flour, roasted red peppers

Key Ingredients

Bread Flour is important to the texture and rising ability of this bread. This flour has a higher protein content (14 to 15%) that works with the yeast for a better textured bread.
While I used Kalamata (or calamata) olives here, I have also made it with great results using green pimento stuffed olives.
Jarred roasted red peppers are preferred for this recipe. They are softer than fresh red peppers that have been roasted at home. They provide most of the liquid for this recipe.
Either olive oil or canola oil can be used.

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients & instructions.

Step by Step Instructions

This dough may need a bit more flour or water before the olives are added. It will depend upon how much liquid was left or taken out of the olives and peppers

The first collage for the Sweet & Hot Red Pepper & Olive Bread Recipe shows the kalamata olives, dried betweet paper towels, the jarred red peppers on a paper towel an d then dried,

Step 1. Place the whole kalamata or green olives on a double sheet of paper towels. Step 2. Place two more sheets of paper towels on top and press to dry them out as much as possible. Step 3. Place the jarred red peppers on two more towels and cover with two more paper towels. Step 4. Press as much liquid out as possible.

This collages shows the yeast in water, oil and red pepper flakes, the red peppers processed to a puree and the yeast mixture added and processed.

Step 5. Stir the yeast into the water. Step 6. Add the oil and red pepper flakes. Step 7. Puree the red peppers in the processor. Step 8. Add the yeast, oil and pepper flakes and process briefly to mix.

The collages shows the flour added to the process, the dough being made, the olives added on top and the dough pulsed to cut in the olives.

Step 8 Add the flour and salt to the processor. Step 10. Process to form a tacky to firm dough. If the dough is really soft, add a bit more flour. If it is too stiff, add a tablespoon of water. Step 11. Place the whole olives on top of the dough. Step 12. With 4 or 5 quick pulse cut in the olives.

The last collage shows the dough out of the processor, formed into a ball, risen in a container and the dough shaped into a round bread and rolls.

Step 13. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Step 14. Shape the dough into a round. Step 15. Place it in a container that has been sprayed with a non-stick baking release. Let it rise until doubled. This is a very fast rising dough and should be risen in 1 to 1 ½ hours. I recommend refrigerating it overnight. Step 16. Shape the dough into a ball or it can be made into rolls. Let it rise a second time just until doubled. Just before baking, make 3 deep slashed across the bread, whisk the egg white until foamy, brush the bread and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Mixer Method

Coarsely chop the olives. Set aside.

Follow the steps 1 through 8. Fit the mixer with a dough hook if possible. Transfer the liquid to a mixing bowl. Add the flour and beat on low to bring the dough together in a shaggy state. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too loose or more water if it is too firm. It should be tacky to the touch. Add the olives and beat just until they are mixed in. Follow steps 13 to 16.

To Make Rolls

To shape the rolls, measure the dough into 85 grams pieces, shape them into a balls by pulling all the edges underneath. Place it on an unfloured work surface, with the smooth side up and cup your hand over the dough. Roll it around under your hand. This is the same method professionals use to make round rolls. However, this bread dough has a mind of its own, so despite your best efforts they may come out less than round.

Recipe FAQ'S

Can Red Pepper and Olive Bread be Frozen?

Absolutely. Just cool it completely, wrap it well in foil and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it on a cooling rack and refresh it in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Why do the red peppers and olives make the bread soggy?

It is important to place the peppers and olives between paper towels and press out as much liquid as possible to keep from watering down the dough.

My dough is too wet, how do I fix it?

Before adding the olives, add a bit more flour until the dough is soft but tacky. Add the olives and mix them in as quickly and gently as possible.

Expert Tips

It is most important to press as much liquid as possible from the olives and red peppers to avoid extra liquid in the dough.
If the dough is too wet, add flour a bit at a time to make a soft tacky dough.
This is a fast riser - usually an hour to 1 to 1 1 /2 hours
Refrigerating the dough overnight makes it easier to shape the next day and also adds more flavor.
Bread flour is important to this recipe so it doesn't get weighed down with the peppers and olives.
When shaping the dough, don't add flour to the work surface. The dough should be able to be shaped without it. If any help is needed, add a bit of oil to the work surface.

Sliced bread on a lattice trivvet with a bottle of kalamata olives and roasted red peppers in the background.

Other Flavorful Breads to Enjoy

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