This smelled heavenly when I was putting it together. I never quite got my ingredients on track per the original recipe, but it did lead me to look at more of the ideas.
At it’s heart, this is a quick bread with “additions” – savory ones. I managed to finally round up some comte cheese (one of my favorites, having been introduced to it by Dorie), assuming that I’d have olives around, and probably some tapenade. Well, I do have olives, but almost only ones with pits. That seemed like an excessive amount of work. So I did scrounge up some green ones, homemade pesto (sans cheese for the vegan portion of my day) and a meyer lemon for the optional zest. I even decided to use some of my pistachio oil in this (including pieces of nuts).
This is easily put together, and the concept is great. I’m a huge believer in quick-breads – of all varieties. Fast, simple and oh-so-yummy (most of the time). The ingredients get prepped. Dry ingredients, whisked together, wet ingredients the same, and the flavoring options get prepped too.
Then it’s a simple process. The wet ingredients added to dry. Just barely incorporated (you can see that it’s lumpy and there are bits of flour still visible), the flavorings added it, and then the whole thing very quickly mixed so that the lumps remain – you don’t need a smooth batter, since what you really want is for the gluten to not really get going. It’s kind of the opposite of yeast breads, where you knead to get the gluten really formed.
This all gets put into a small-ish, prepared bread pan and baked. In this recipe, it starts at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, and then drops to 375 for another 35. I’m not sure exactly why. But that’s the recipe and that’s what I did.
I couldn’t wait until it was cold to try it. Unfortunately, that probably wasn’t the best choice. It smelled so very much better when I was making this, than what it tasted warm. I think the flavors are a little more well-rounded when it’s had a chance to cool. I’ve brought some to work – I’ll see how people like it! I think it would be delicious with a glass of white wine as well, or paired with a salad as suggested. You can see how others fared here.
dulceshome 
Your description is apt – sometimes wrangling up the ingredients is the hardest part of a recipe 🙂
Have a great weekend.
I’m one of the lucky co-workers who gets to sample FFWD treats from time to time. The aroma is beautiful but I didn’t actually like eating it as much as I expected to because of the texture. This bread smells good and it tastes good but something seemed odd because it is so moist and dense yet savory. The execution of the recipe was flawless and it is a really well-made quick bread , but I associate that quick bread texture with sweetness. I want pesto and olives to be in a loaf with a sourdough’s chewy texture and crust.
It certainly does look delicious. I plan to try this again with variations, but I loved the texture of the bread. Have a great weekend.
I made this loaf according to Dorie’s exact directions. Right now I am so intimidated by baking in the high altitude that I don’t want to verve off the road. However, as you pointed out, with a quick bread, that’s really not a problem. I liked this and took it to a dinner party. But, I think it’s probably best served, as Dorie suggested, as a nibble with wine or, as Susan suggested, as the makings for a grilled cheese sandwich. I think your loaf looks really tasty and I sorta like the addition of nuts.
I love the idea of nuts in this bread and Comte I am a fan now too. I didn’t use it this time but what a delicious cheese… My husband the bread baker in the family always warns me not to eat bread until it cools.. The cooling is part of the cooking. He may be right.
I think this loaf is just made for using up what you have in the fridge. That takes wrangling ingredients out of the equation. Using the pistachio oil sounds like a great addition. I still have a lot in the fridge to use up. I liked, but didn’t love, this one, mostly because of the texture.
I like the way you have it all sliced up, looks great!
I tried it warm and it didn’t grab me. So I waited until it cooled and thought it might taste different once the flavours had time to settle. It didn’t really make a difference to my opinion. There’s always next week!
Cheese and pistachio oil! Ingenious!! I really have to get that oil and start using! I love the picture of your sliced bread it is so appetising!!!
Great looking slices!
I meant to put basil pesto in mine and totally forgot it at the last minute. DOH! LOL 🙂 good job!