The kick-off to patio season has to be celebrated with a great appetizer, right? Which is why today’s recipe is perfectly suited. This Ham, Olive and Cheese Bread is very popular in France, and a French aperitif favorite.
Known in French as a “cake salé” (savory cake), you’ll often find this type of rustic bread/loaf served at friendly get-togethers or for pre-meal snacks and drinks in France. They come in all variations and are traditionally cut in thin slices or cubes for guests to pick at, while mingling before dinner.
This one is probably the most popular of all. It is made just a like a cake (flour, eggs, minus the sugar) and with ham, cheese and olives – most ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and fridge. It is quick and simple to make, and I have no hesitation in saying it is a total crowd-pleaser.
This Ham Cheese and Olive Bread, like most “cake salé”, is halfway between a bread and a savory cake. It is salty and flavorful, but not too rich nor moist. It has a tender crumb that’s both cheesy and eggy, spruced up with dried herbs and nestled with salty ham cubes and briny olives.
For serving, cut it in slices or cubes, and place on a serving tray with skewers and napkins. Because it is sturdy and keeps well, it also great for picnics or lunches on-the-go, to accompany a salad.
Cooking notes:
- For the ham, choose an “original” or “traditional black forest” ham (not flavoured; ie. brown sugar or honey maple). Cut it in small cubes, and make sure you remove the skin (the skin doesn’t bake well in this cake, and ends up being very rubbery).
- For the cheese, Gruyère or Emmental are best; but you can also opt for other hard grated cheese such as cheddar, smoked cheddar, parmesan or provolone.
- If you aren’t a fan of olives, you can substitute them with the same amount of sundried tomatoes (drained, chopped).
I hope you’ll love this Ham Cheese and Olive Bread recipe as much as I do!
You may also like:
- Classic French-style Potato Salad
- Swiss Chard Pancakes (Farçous)
- Sweet Pea Ham Quiche
- Classic French Tomato Mustard Tart
- Classic Vegetable Tian from Provence
If you try this Ham Cheese and Olive Bread recipe let me know! Leave a comment or share a photo using #pardonyourfrench on Instagram. Bon Appétit!
47 comments
Délicieux. Réussi même avec de la farine sans gluten. Avec une petite salade verte, on s’est régalés. Merci
Merci!
This sounds amazing! I can see why it’s so popular there. I will make this and more you made before I liked … not long now till my kitchen is built after that silly flood. We are very lucky to have someone with such a wonderful blog share such great recipes.
Thank you so much, hope you enjoy the recipes!
Loving the simplicity of this , it is just such a neat lunch idea. I don’t like a lot of meat or cheese in sandwich so this solves that problem. Just butter this lovely bread and you’re ready to go!💖💖💖
Absolutely, Carol! It’s really a favorite here, especially when the weather turns nicer and we head out for long walks and/or picnics. It’s equally as great for when guests come over to serve as little finger food. A very versatile little loaf… I hope you’ll enjoy!
Would you give an authentic tartiflette recipe please? I love your blog by the way! Thanks
Hi Antonella, thank you for the nice comment! I have never done a Tartiflette recipe while in Canada – and the reason is because Tartiflette is traditionally made with Reblochon cheese, which isn’t (officially) available in the US/Canada (Reblochon is unpasteurized and has not been sufficiently aged to pass U.S. import laws). And in my opinion, Tartiflette simply can’t be made without Reblochon – the cheese makes the dish! So I have never been able to find real Reblochon in a US/Canada store – but if you ever get your hands on this cheese, I recommend Anthony Bourdain’s recipe from Food & Wine: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tartiflette. A simple, yet absolutely delicious dish!
This looks so delicious and I would love to make this for my husband but he is diabetic and doesn’t eat any white flour. Have you ever used whole wheat flour instead of white?
I just read your response to Gigi about whole wheat flour.
Great, happy baking!
Many thanks Audrey for the suggestion and I will certainly look up that recipe. I come from Malta and you do find Reblochon although not everywhere and mostly close to Christmas time but I have bought it about twice I think. I am a great fan of Taritflette because I was introduced to it by a French student who had come to Malta on an exchange and I had met her through a friend. She had gone to France to visit her parents, brought this cheese back with her and cooked Tartiflette for us. I had never known of this dish before and it was amazing – one of the best things I ever tasted! I then later visited a food fair but it was nothing like hers! So I am always after the perfect Tariflette recipe. I hope I didn’t bore you with my story and thanks again! 🙂
Thanks Antonella, always love to hear French food-related stories!
Hi, is it possible to make it diabetic friendly by using whole wheat flour or rye or spelt? And if so what would you recommend the proportions be?
Hi Gigi, I have never tried it but I think using whole wheat could work! Usually in my baked goods, I use 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour for every 1 cup of white flour (meaning, I still keep some white flour). Also, whole wheat flour tends to make baked goods a little dryer, so you should add an extra splash (1-2 tbsp) of milk to the batter. I hope this helps!
Thanks for the tip Audrey. Will try it out and let you know how it turned out.
We made this recipe last week, and it was excellent. It looked just like the pictures and was easy to make. The pictures in the recipe steps are very helpful! It was delicious!
Amazing! Thanks for your feedback. I can’t wait for warmer days to arrive so I can make it for the “apero”.
The bread is delicous! Cannot wait to make it for friends & family.
Thank you Megan!
I made this bread last night-delicious! But it didn’t rise very much-about half the height of your picture.
Any thoughts?
Hi Sharon! Thank you for your feedback! That’s interesting, I am not why this would happen. Make sure your pat dry the olives well (if they come from a jar) so they don’t release moisture while baking (this can result in a denser crumb). Another idea would be to use your oven with convection mode ON next time, which will likely help with the rising of the bread. I hope this helps!
Hi Audrey,
I’m Vivian from Malaysia, I had just tried this recipe. The taste is so good. I had replaced olive with sun-dried tomatoes and added caramelized onion. But the outcome of my bread is dense. Was it because I over mix it or I placed at the wrong rack? This is a very tasty bread
Hi Vivian, Thank you for your feedback! This bread should be baked on the middle rack of your oven. I think that adding caramelized onion into the batter may have added some moisture, resulting in a denser crumb. Although I am sure this was delicious! 🙂
Hi Audrey!
Made your delicious bread this afternoon along with the tomato tart! Both were delicious!
The recipes were easy to follow ( loved the notes sections) and the pictures helped as well.
Fantastic, thank you Brenda!
Fantastic recipe, I love this bread!
Thank you!
I am looking forward to trying your recipes.
Thank you!
I make this often, having got the recipé from my friends in France. It is delicious and a pleasant change from supermarket nibbles. I must try it with sun dried tomatoes, just to please the olive haters. Thank you Audrey.
Thank you and happy baking!
My dad wanted ham for Thanksgiving, so we made ham – of course, we had leftovers! Saw your recipe, and should’ve made two, (or three) loaves! The slices flew off the table, and everyone wants more for tomorrow.
We did add some onions, sautéed with the herbes de Provance…it was terrific. Next, we’ll try the sun-dried tomato variation. Thanks so much for posting this. 🙂
Fantastic, thank you for your feedback!
I’ve made this recipe, and variations on it, several times. I usually skip the olives, except when I make a no-meat version for our vegetarian daughter-in-law. I’ve also used bacon, back bacon and pancetta in the place of ham, and Comté. cheddar and chèvre instead of or in addition to the Gruyère . They’re all good, but I have to say the Gruyère seems to suit the loaf best. As for the herbs, I’ve probably used the entire herb garden at one time or another. I think rosemary and winter savoury are the best, but my wife likes thyme and parsley. Chacun à son goût, eh? Also, by the way, this loaf can be made a day or two ahead and reheated (10-15 minutes at 300F) before serving, and it also freezes beautifully.
Thank you for sharing all your tips Jack!
I love making this – sometimes I’ll use leftover cooked chicken, chopped pistaches, crumbled goats’ cheese. It also freezes really well so I often slice it and freeze, it’s great for picnics as well as apéro!
Thanks Emma, its is definitely great for Summer picnics!
[…] 21. Ham Cheese And Olive Bread […]
Very delicious. Didn’t rise as high as I expected, but tasted great. I made it along with your Skillet Ratatouille. Both very good. Does it need refrigeration for storage? Ham?
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it, Betty. To answer your question, yes, I typically wrap the bread in foil and keep it in the fridge for 1 – 2 days.
As for the loaf rising, it is fairly dense and thus doesn’t rise a lot… So your result is fairly normal, I would think.
Very dense. Would be easier to decipher if the amounts of ingredients would be in cups or portions of cups.
Hello Kathleen. This cake is meant to be dense, as it is a salty bread/loaf. But that being said, it shouldn’t be like a brick either. In general, in France, all recipes are only listed by weight, as it is the most accurate way to recreate a recipe. One cup of flour for me and one cup of flour for you could vary by as much as 40gr, believe it or not, which causes several issues when baking. I do try to include cup measurements when possible.
Hi Audrey,
It’s me again from Melbourne. I just made this savoury loaf and I was very impressed with the results. I will definitely be making it again for pre-Christmas drinks, It is a simple but very clever dish.
George
Thank you as always, George! This loaf is perfect for pre-drink bites, I think and hope everyone will love it. I’ll be doing the same this year 🙂
Just no! This recipe is a NO for me! Even with the fillings it completely lacks flavour. It barely rose as well. Waste of ingredients!
Sorry to hear that, Margaret. While called a “bread” this loaf doesn’t rise or texture like a tradtional bread. It is meant to be quite dense, but with the eggs and baking powder there should be some spring to it.
I can appreciate that not every recipe will be enjoyed by everyone, and I am sorry you didn’t like this one.