Greek Celebration Bread Artos is the general name for Greek celebration breads, and they are given specific names for the shapes and/or occasions they are baked.This bread called for a number of special ingredients for just this master formula. A lot of fat, represented by the eggs, oil and milk, with plenty of spices to round out the flavor. From this recipe, you can make the following
Christopsomos – Christmas (also involves an elaborate shaping of the loaf with crosses, and dried colored fruits and nuts)
Lambropsomo – Easter (has hard cooked eggs in it, dyed red. What the hell? Hard boiled eggs?)
This brea
d was awesome to make. It required a lot of preplanning as the “barm” prepared four days before, takes a while. In order to create a barm, you essentially begin seed culture of Rye Flour and water to form a sticky goo. You let the goo bubble and ferment over a couple of days, each day removing a part of it, and adding water and more flour. With this see culture you make many of preferments and embark on your wild yeast culture. I won’t be going there right now, but sometime soon.
From the seed culture you can make barms, bigas, pate fermente and many of the sour doughs. Even though commercial instant yeast is used in this formula, the barm is there to present the bread with some help and great taste. The taste comes from the long drawn out flavor coaxed from the prolonged soaking of the rye flour.
This is the master formula that I did, by which all other Greek Celebration breads can be created. The bread turned out great, and I make two loaves. One by hand and the other entirely by mixer. If it hadn’t been like 80 degrees outside, this would have made the house all warm and fuzzy. I’m sure we would have been cuddled up with blankies watching a Charlie Brown Christmas. As it was, I was up early mixing and staying up late baking. We had Dozer Day, to get to, Church, Whitewater part, and all sorts of domestic stuff.
I believe I will be making this loaf again, and this time adding the dried fruits and nuts and giving my hands a try at shaping the complicated Christopsomos loaf. Shaped into a simple boule and glazed with honey water concoction, it was wonderful. A little sticky to cut, but it smelled great. Next week, bagels.
2 comments:
you forgot the one important detail...the days before this bread is actually made our house smelled like something fierce. :)
The Easter bread is a staple in our house... heavily anise flavored with 5 colored eggs in it. The eggs are actually raw when put in the bread, and bake with the bread in the oven.
I don't eat the eggs (I'm not a fan of hard-boiled or baked eggs to begin with)
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