Baking Advent Calendar day 14

A busy weekend of preparing for Christmas and seeing my family has made me realise just how close it’s getting. Cards are arriving and we’ve exchanged presents today with some family members who we won’t be seeing over the holidays. It’s definitely time to start thinking about Christmas food.

After all of the sweet indulgence of the last few days I’m switching back to a savoury bake for Baking Advent Calendar day 14. As we get closer to Christmas this is a bake that I always do as I know that there will be a lot of cheese in the house. Cheese  and olives are a great combination and having those olives in a thin crispy breadstick seems even better. These breadsticks work well with a cheeseboard at the end of a meal, but are just as delicious if offered as something to nibble on with a glass of something good. Another of the advantages of this bake is that the breadsticks store well so they can be baked well in advance if you want them for the big day.  

This recipe makes 18 breadsticks

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 10g salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 400ml tepid water
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 500g pitted green olives

Method

• Put the flour, salt & yeast in a mixer with a dough hook. Add three quarters of the water and xix on a low speed. As the dough comes together slowly add the remaining water as you continue to mix.
• Mix for 5 to 8 minutes until the dough is wet and stretchy. Add the olive oil and mix for a further 2 minutes. Than add the olives and mix until well distributed.
• Place the dough in a bowl and leave to prove for one hour.
• Line a baking tray with parchment and heat the oven to gas mark 7.
• Dust your work top with quite a lot of flour and tip the risen dough onto it. Then sprinkle more flour onto the dough and gently stretch it to a rectangle. The dough may seem quite wet but don’t worry, it’s meant to be that way. You are aiming to tech the dough to a rectangle that can be cut into approximately eighteen 10cm long strips. 
• Place the strips on a the lined  tray and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. I find it best to do six strips at a time as they will expand during baking. Don’t worry if the sticks look crooked or are not all the same shape. Just tell people there are a ‘rustic’ bake
• Leave to cool on a wire rack