Olive Bread Recipe

Here's a quick olive bread recipe that is a classic offering at cocktail hour in France. Savory quick breads are often served as appetizers in France. They are called cakes and will include different vegetables and meats. You might find bacon and prunes included together, or feta and basil, or salmon and zucchini. I'm sure you can think up your own wonderful taste combination.

The olive bread recipe given here is a classic combination you will find hosts all over France serving up at l'heure de l'apéritif (cocktail hour). It features green olives, cubed ham, and gruyère cheese. Feel free to substitute different ingredients for these, just respect the proportions for the rest of the cake.

I need to note too for those of you who are used to following non-French cake recipes that the order of mixing the ingredients is a little different. I am always alarmed when I follow a French cake recipe by adding the eggs right into the flour as a first step, but it works out, even if it is a little lumpy along the way.

To serve the bread, let it cool completely, then cut it into one inch cubes for bit-sized enjoyment. Delicious and easy.

Cake Aux Olives

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
2/3 cup safflower oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups pitted green olives, floured lightly
1 1/2 cups cubed ham
6 ounces grated cheese (gruyère is used in France, but you can use cheddar or jack)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix the flour with the baking powder. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly into a stiff dough. Add the oil and the wine and mix until smooth, or as smooth as you can get it with a couple of minutes of mixingt. Stir in the floured olives, the ham, the cheese, and the pepper. You shouldn't need to add salt, because the ham, cheese and olives all contribute enough salty taste.

Pour into a non-stick 12 inch loaf pan (or a greased Pyrex loaf pan) and bake at 350° for 55 minutes.

Makes one substantial loaf of bread, or about 150 cubes.

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