Kalamata Olive Bread
Source: Rustic European Breads From Your Bread Machine by Diana Collingwood Butts and Linda West Eckhardt
Makes 1 (12-inch) loaf.

SPONGE:
1 cup water
1 cup bread flour
1 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

DOUGH:
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped Kalamata olives

Prepare sponge by combining water with flours and yeast in a bread machine pan. Process on dough setting. Allow sponge to stand in closed bread machine up to 2 days before finishing bread.

To prepare bread dough, add salt, bread flour and oil to sponge in pan. Process on dough setting again. Once dough setting has finished, turn soft dough out onto a lightly floured surface and flatten into a rough 12-inch round.

Press olives into surface. Roll dough from edges to center to form into a round shape, then press down to flatten lightly. Rub flour into surface of bread. Let rise, covered, on a sheet of parchment paper until nearly doubled in bulk.

Place a stone in bottom third of preheated 375-degree oven 30 minutes.

Using a razor blade, make quick tic-tac-toe slice in top of round bread, or for a baguette shape, cut diagonal slashes on a long loaf.

If desired, brush on an egg wash. (A whole egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water gives a shiny, medium brown glaze. An egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon milk gives the shiniest mahogany-brown glaze. Plain egg white whisked with 1 tablespoon water gives a caramel shine.)

Use a peel to shovel raised dough onto hot stone.

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven 30 to 40 minutes until browned and done. Cool thoroughly on a rack before cutting.