Provençal Olive Fougasse

Dorie Greenspan: Around My French Table: Recipe 4

The dough was easy to make and the instructions given were clear.  The dough was enough to make two breads, but they should be eaten the same day you bake them.  Luckily, you can leave half the dough in the fridge for up to three days so that you do not have to make two breads on the same day.  Olives, lemon zest and rosemary get mixed in with the dough all add good flavor to the bread with the exception of the rosemary.  There either wasn’t enough to make an impact or perhaps I minced it too fine.  I used coarse grey sea salt as my finishing salt of choice.  The dough was easy to handle and shape- didn’t give me any trouble at all.  The finished bread only needs about 20 minutes to cool after it comes out the oven before you can eat it.  I shared my first loaf with a number of people, all of whom really liked it.   Most surprising perhaps was that I like it, and I am not a big fan of olives, though I keep trying.  It was easy to just keep eating this bread and it didn’t need any accompaniments like butter or more olive oil.  This would be a nice appetizer for a get together or just a nice treat to snack on.  I will be making this again.  Hurrah!