Sun-dried tomato, Olive, and Cheese Bread

For the first time last week I decided to try my hand at bread baking. And, if baking it myself, why not mix a few ingredients together that I love and put them in a bread? That's exactly what I did and it turned out fantastic.

Warning: This will be messy and messy recipes are hard to take photos of (especially when you are making them by yourself!). However, this recipe was great and you can expect a few more bread recipes in the upcoming months as I plan to try a few new types. I already have a request in for raisin pumpernickel.

Sun-dried tomato, Olive, and Cheese Bread
1/4 oz pkg dry yeast
1 cup warm water
4 cups bread flour
1 small can black olives
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
handful shredded cheese
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream

Place the yeast in the hot water and set aside. Combine flour, garlic powder, salt, sour cream, and most of the olives and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl.  Stir in the yeast mixture, and mix with your hands to make a consistent dough. Add the cheese and remaining sun-dried tomatoes and olives, and make sure the dough is well mixed and soft.

Place in a greased bowl and let it rise for 1.5 hours, turning once. Punch down, in a loaf pan, and let the bread rise again for about another hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

 (It was at this point that I really wish I had taken another photo. After the 1 hour rising time in the loaf pan, I came back to find the bread so huge it was practically exploding! Hilarious! Unfortunately, no photo, and I saved the bread)