Feta cheese and olives homemade bread kneaded with beer

I'll never stop saying that nothing can beat freshly baked homemade bread and those of you who are familiar to baking know how right I am! And why not to add a few more things in so to make it even more interesting and luscious? And what if these extra ingredients are Feta cheese and olives? Well then you'll find your self in front of a small miracle of taste and aroma! The ideal cheese in this bread is a hard and lightly pungent Feta giving extra flavour. You can use your favourite olives but Kalamata olives are not a bad variety for this bread. As for the herbs, beside the oregano, marjoram or thyme both suit the recipe

Recipe from "BHMAgourmet" magazine of "BHMA" newspaper



Ingredients (for 5-6 people)
 
For the filling:
200 gr. of Feta cheese, cut in cubes
200 gr. of small black olives in brine, pitted and well rinsed
1 tsp of dried oregano
some dried rosemary, well crushed to sprinkle

For the dough:
500 gr. of self-raising flour
300 ml of lager beer
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 tsp of salt

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and brush with some oil a medium round oven pan.

Put the cheese, the olives and the oregano in a bowl and mix with a spoon. Cover with cling film and leave aside.

Put all the dough ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Then knead with your hands until you have a homogeneous dough which doesn't stick to the hands. Shape into a ball, cover with a clean cotton kitchen towel and leave aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Dust with some flour a clean surface and, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular sheet of about 1 cm thick.

Equally scatter the filling on the surface of the dough leaving an empty space of 1cm all around. Carefully fold the dough into a roll and transfer it to the pan.

Stretch the dough with your palms so to cover the bottom of the pan, looking like a pie. Sprinkle on the top with the rosemary while gently pressing so to stick on the dough. Cover the bread with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rest for another 30 minutes.

Spray the surface of the bread with a few drops of water, score with a knife and put in the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes.

It can be served while it is still hot but also at room temperature.