Rosemary Olive Sourdough

kitty | November 18, 2025   SKIP TO RECIPE  

A loaf of Rosemary Olive Sourdough

Rosemary Olive Sourdough is a classically rustic flavor profile you’re surely familiar with. For me, it’s evocative of sitting down at a nice Italian restaurant and dipping a freshly baked artisanal bread into a saucer of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You know, exactly what I’m talking about. It’s so classic that I knew it had to be the first flavor combo I attempted with my finally mastered Homemade Sourdough. Once you’re ready to try inclusions, I highly recommend this as your first go. 

Plump, briney kalamata olives and savory rosemary are a match made in heaven for a crusty loaf of sourdough. The salty olives warmed in the tender embrace of the dough impart a lovely taste and texture to the crumb and rosemary obviously adds an unrivaled savory flavor that lights up the senses. This loaf is so good it will make your house smell like an authentic bread shop.

Once this thing is out of the oven, it’s extremely difficult to wait out the obligatory one hour before ripping into it. And then it becomes an even bigger challenge not to inhale it all in its fresh-baked glory. There’s something seriously magical about fresh-baked bread, even more so when it comes out of your own oven. I already knew it would be, but the first taste confirmed this sourdough variation to be an instant classic. If you manage to save some, eat it alongside almost any soup, shashuka, or as the vehicle for a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich, like this Pesto Grilled Cheese.

TOOLS

INGREDIENTS

  • 100 grams active sourdough starter
  • 325 grams water
  • 500 grams bread flour
  • 10 grams salt
  • 85 grams Kalamata olives, chopped
  • 4-5 sprigs rosemary, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large bowl, mix the starter with water until it’s dissolved and milky. Add in the flour and salt and mix until combined into a sticky, shaggy dough ball. 
  2. Bulk Fermentation: Cover the bowl with a dish cloth or plastic and set aside for 1 hour. Document the time your dough was formed; this marks the start of the bulk fermentation stage.
  3. After one hour, do your first set of stretch and folds. Slightly wet your hands. Starting at the top (12 o’clock position) of the bowl, reach under the dough, lift and stretch it as much as you can without breaking it, and fold it across to the opposite side of the bowl (6 o’clock position). Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat 3 more times. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
  4. Repeat the stretch and folds every 30 minutes 4 more times, for a total of 5 sets. During the 3rd set of stretch and folds, sprinkle some of the olives and rosemary over the top of the dough before stretching, then fold over. Repeat with the remaining olives and rosemary, gently smoothing the toppings into the dough ball as needed.
  5. After the last set of stretch and folds, cover and set the dough aside and allow to ferment for the remaining 2 hours (about 5 hours total from the time the dough was first mixed) or until your dough has doubled in size, is jiggly, has bubbles throughout and it is no longer (or very slightly) sticky to the touch.
  6. Preshaping: Once ready, gently dump out the dough onto your clean, dry working surface and begin slap and folding the dough until it becomes smoother. Do this by picking up the dough from the top third with one hand on either side, slapping the bottom onto your work surface and folding the top over. Do this a few times until smooth, being careful not to overhandle the dough.
  7. Then tension pull the dough by cupping your hands around it and dragging it on the work surface until a tight, smooth ball forms. Cover with a dish cloth and rest for 15-20 minutes. Lightly flour the banneton.
  8. Shaping: Lightly flour the work surface and using a bench scraper, pick up the dough and place it on the floured area with the smooth side (top) down. Stretch the dough out into a rectangle as thin as you can then fold the top third down and the bottom third up over it. Roll it up like a burrito, pinching the sides closed, then tension pull into a nice smooth ball once more.
  9. Pick up the dough with the bench scraper and place it in the banneton with the top side down. Pinch the seams closed on the bottom then cover with a dish cloth or plastic and transfer to the fridge for cold fermentation.
  10. Cold Fermentation: Chill the dough in the fridge for 12-48 hours or longer, if desired.
  11. One hour before baking, place the Dutch oven in the oven and preheat at 500°F for 1 hour.
  12. Once preheated, remove the dough from the fridge and flip it out of the banneton into a silicone mat or parchment paper. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Using the bread lame, score the dough with one deep cut on one side and smaller design slashes on the other side.
  13. Place the dough in the preheated Dutch oven and cover with the lid. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 450°F, remove the lid and bake another 8-12 minutes until desired color and crispness is reached. 
  14. Remove from the oven and place on a cutting board or cooling rack for 1-2 hours before slicing.

A loaf of Rosemary Olive Sourdough
Closeup of a loaf of Rosemary Olive Sourdough
The inside of a loaf of Rosemary Olive Sourdough cut in half
Slices of Rosemary Olive Sourdough on a cutting board
Closeup of slices of Rosemary Olive Sourdough on a cutting board
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