This is a fabulous Christmas sharing starter – making any bread is time consuming, but this is worth it as it’s such a great starter packed with tapenade and twisted into a lovely tree shape for tearing. We serve with the the left over Tapenade to dip the bread into. We’ve added Chorizo to the mix, but if you want to make this Dairy Free Tapenade and Chorizo Christmas Bread vegetarian then just leave it out.
Its a bit faffy to put together, you need to cut two large triangles out of the dough, cover the bottom layer with the homemade tapenade, top with another triangle and then cut the branches into the tree. You can leave as thick or thin a ‘trunk’ as you like – it’s simply about how far in you cut.
You can, of course, use store bought Tapenade but it’s very simple to make your own Tapenade, and therefore end up with exactly the flavour you like. We’ve added both Sundried Tomatoes and Anchovies to ours, along with a good handful of Basil. Use Parsley if you prefer, and leave out the Sun Dried Tomatoes if they don’t appeal. It only takes 20 minutes to bake, but you do need to prove it twice, so it takes up about 3 hours all in all to make our Dairy Free Tapenade and Chorizo Christmas Bread.
Tapenade and Chorizo Christmas Bread
Ingredients
Tapenade
- 1 1/2 Cups Kalamata Black Olives
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Capers
- 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 3 Anchovy fillets
- 4 Sundried Tomatoes
- Bunch of fresh Basil
- 3 Tbsp Chorizo, finely chopped
Bread
- 360 Grms Bread flour
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 230 Mlls Non Dairy Milk - we use Oatley
- 1 Tsp Caster Sugar
- 2 Tsp Fast Acting Yeast
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Make the Tapenade by adding the Olives, Basil, Garlic, Sundried Tomatoes, Anchovies, Capers and Lemon Juice into a food processor. Pulse until you have a smooth mixture that still have a bit of texture to it.
- Slowly add in the Olive Oil. Pop the mixture into a bowl, and stir in the chopped Chorizo. Put in the fridge until the bread is ready.
Bread
- Sift the flour and salt together.
- Warm the milk on the hob until just tepid add the sugar. Pour into a bowl and add the yeast. Whisk to combine and leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes until nice and frothy.
- Add the olive oil to the milk mixture and mix with the flour. Bring the dough together with your hands until you've a ball of slightly sticky dough.
- On a lightly floured surface knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy.
- Form the dough into a ball, place in a large bowl which you've greased with olive oil, lightly grease the dough as well and put a bit of olive oil on a piece of clingfilm and over the bowl. Cover again with a tea towel and place away from a draft and allow to rise for an hour.
- After an hour the dough should have doubled in size.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, cut into two equal sizes. Roll each part out into a rectangular shape.
- Dust one piece of dough with a bit of flour, and lay the other piece of dough on top of it. Then cut a large triangle, and a tree trunk shape at the bottom.
- Separate the two pieces of dough without stretching them, and place one piece onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread 4 Tbsp of Tapenade onto the dough, and top with the other piece. Use some of the left over dough from when you cut the triangle to make a star or bobble for the top of the tree.
- Brush a little bit of Olive oil onto the tree, cover with cling film, and a towel and leave in a warm place to prove for half an hour.
- To make the tree grab a pair of scissors and cut branches into the triangle, making sure to leave enough room for a 'trunk' of the tree. Carefully twist each branch to expose the Tapenade filling.
- Brush with Olive Oil and bake at 180℃, 360℉ for 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Serve with the left over Tapenade.
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