Salted Olive Crisps - Cook-the-Book-Fridays

David Lebovitz started this recipe with his account on bread knives in Paris, I started with a check list. Good bread knife. Checked. But I can't say that my olives were equally as good. I used some rather generic Greek olive medley in the batter.

Good knives are essential in the kitchen, as David says. I received a wonderful set of chef knives as a housewarming gift decades ago. Did not quite understand why I'd need them then, until I started cooking. I passed on the set to my daughter when she went to college. To my surprise, she brought home the knives during the semester break — to be sharpened. She too appreciates the importance and efficiency of keeping the working knives sharp. We have since developed an unspoken routine. Instead of her traveling with the chef knives, I travel with my knife sharpener when I visit her. With my Chef's Choice professional sharpener on hand, I'd go to work and sharpen every knife I can find in her kitchen. Mom's on duty or a cook's obsession?

The easy part of this salted olive crisps recipe in David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen is the straightforward batter. The dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, herbes de Provence, baking soda, salt and pepper, are mixed in with the buttermilk. I substituted kefir milk, which I had on hand, for buttermilk. Key flavor and texture add-ins of olives and almonds went in last.

I used two mini loaf pans instead of one full-size 9-inch loaf pan. They went into a 350°F oven, until the toothpick came out clean when inserted in the center, about 30 minutes. They looked like quick breads. I tried to resist the temptation to jump start the next step (cutting the loaves into thin slices of no thicker than 1/4 inch), until the loaves were completely cool. Even with a sharp bread knife, it was hard to keep the edges of the loaf from crumbling as you cut. That's the tricky part of the exercise.

The thin slices were laid flat on the baking sheet and baked at 325°F for about 30 to 35 minutes. I managed to get about 36 mini crisps. I probably did not slice them thin enough. They are fantastic snacks. The saltiness of the olives deliver an appealing sophisticated flair.

Please visit Cook-the-Book-Fridays to see the comments and discussions on these olive crisps from the online group, a community of engaging home cooks, who are working through each and every recipe in David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen. You are welcome to join the group and cook along with us.