Ham & Olive Loaf

I'm not sure how I've lived my life up to this point without this bread in my recipe rotation. My life has been utterly meaningless. Life without bread studded with chunks of ham and salty olives of all colors is so boring.

The egg-y crumb of this bread makes me want to almost call it a breakfast bread. Who am I kidding? I shouldn't use the word almost. I should say: Yes, this was my breakfast for 3 straight days. Topped with butter and nuked in the micro, my life suddenly had meaning. 

My brain just didn't function correctly since the day I pinned a picture of the original recipe 5 weeks ago! That's 5 weeks of Bread Brain Fog. My poor family. They'd been wondering where their mother had gone. She's in her own culinary dreamworld. Alas! My dreamworld is a reality! And this reality is sooooooo good.

 

 

Don't you just want to be in my kitchen right now? Chopping this many olives, ham, and bacon along with grating the cheese is like my best kind of holiday!  

In fact, this bread was served as an appetizer to my family's Thanksgiving dinner. You could also make this into mini-muffins for the cutest hors d'oeuvre. I would guess baking time is going to change a little (my best guess is 20-25 minutes.). 

My Dad ate his leftover bread with jam in the morning. He immediately phoned me to inform me how delicious his breakfast was. In'it that sweet?

 

And these onions! Will you look at those beauties! Just perfectly brown around the edges. Where is the spoon?

 

Your brain is officially invaded with Ham & Olive Loaf envy.

 

Printable Recipe Here

Ham & Olive Loaf

Adapted from eatwell101.com

1 large onion, chopped

Olive oil, for sauteing 

2/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup olive oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup bacon, cooked, crumbled

1 cup ham, diced

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

1/2 cup green olives, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Jarlsberg cheese (or similar), shredded

Preheat oven to 360°F. 

In a medium-sized skillet, saute the chopped onion in a bit of olive oil until softened and translucent around the edges. Remove from heat and cool slightly. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the white wine, olive oil, and eggs. Add crumbled bacon, diced ham, chopped olives and parsley. 

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add grated cheese and give it a toss. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir gently. Do not over mix. 

Pour into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake at 360°F for 1 hour. 

Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let loaf rest in pan for 10 minutes and then run a knife along the edges to loosen loaf. Remove loaf from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Serve room temperature or well chilled with butter and/or jam.