Roasted Red Pepper Black Olives Bread

Yields 2 loaves.

Ingredients:

3Strips bacon; drained and coarsely chopped, note: reserve drippings.
1mdOnion; peeled, halved and sliced 1/8" thick.
2tbOlive oil.
4Garlic cloves chopped ormore.
1tsSalt.
1tsBlack pepper;coarsely ground.
3Roasted red peppers. seenote.
1/2cNicoise olives, halved,pittd.
2tbRosemary; fresh, chopped.
4 1/2cBread flour. divided.
2pkActive dry yeast.
2Eggs; beaten.
1cParmesan cheese; grate fresh.
1cWater; heat to 120f degrees.
1tbCornmeal; for cookie sheet.
2tbButter; melted. Seenote.

Directions:

Lightly spray a ripe red pepper with release spray and rub it around with your finger to coat the entire surface.

Roast the pepper directly in the flames of a gas stove, turning them with tongs until the entire outside of the pepper is blackened. You do not want to cook the peppers too much so do this as quickly as your range will allow. You can also do this under a broiler, on the grill or with any type of blowtorch, but my range is more handy.

In a large frying pan or skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until browned and crispy. Remove the bacon, drain on paper towels and coarsely chop. Set aside. Add the onion to the reserved bacon drippings along with the olive oil. Stir to coat the onions evenly with the oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a golden brown, about 20 minutes.

NOTE: in this prior step it is important that the onions get browned and that most to all of the liquid is fryed out. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in the salt, pepper, roasted red peppers, black olives and chopped rosemary. Stir in the crumbled bacon. Set aside. In the work bowl of a food processor, using the plastic dough blade, combine 3 1/2 cups of flour and the sauteed onion/red pepper mixture. Add the yeast, eggs and the parmesan cheese and combine thoroughly. With the machine still running, add the water slowly until the mixture begins to pull together and forms a ball. Note: that is "begins to pull together", this will not be a rounded ball of dough. If the dough is too sticky, add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time. Process until the dough cleans the sides of the work bowl, then knead for approximately 1 minute longer. The dough should be smooth and elastic and bounce back when pressed with your finger. Place the dough into a lightly oiled freezer type plastic bag, and put in a warm place to double in volume, about 1 hour.(1 gallon bag for each loaf, freeze one, and continue with the other). Remove the dough from bag and punch down, shape the dough into two oblong loaves, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet that has been dusted with the cornmeal.

Make 3 or 4 decorative slashes in the top of the bread and brush with the melted butter. Allow to rise again, in a warm, draft free area until doubled, about 45 minutes. Place the dough into a preheated 375F degree oven and cook for 35-45 minutes or until the bread is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped with your finger. Place the bread directly on a wire rack to cool. This bread freezes well for 2-3 months if tightly wrapped. To serve, defrost overnight in the foil. To warm, place the thawed bread, still wrapped in foil in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. If reheated in this manner, the bread will retain its freshly baked qualities.