Greek Celebration Bread
When it comes to holiday and festival breads, the varieties and secret family recipes are endless. But when broken down to their basic components, they are pretty much variations on a theme. This is especially evident in the various Greek breads. Artos is the general name for Greek celebration breads, but they are given particular names and twists and turns for specific festivals. It is the twists ands turns that make the breads special, bringing visual drama, history, and family tradition into the process. For instance, the color of the fruit is different for Christmas breads than for Easter since Christmas is a festival of incarnation, while Easter is a festival of resurrection and transformation. The breads are often brought to church by home bakers, blessed by the priest, and then brought to the table or given to the needy. I love the designs of the nativity christopsomos, with its bread-dough cross laminated on top of a round loaf and of the Easter egg–braided lambropsomo, also called tsoureki (a Turkish variation). The orange and brandied vassilopita, served on New Year’s Day in honor of Saint Basil, always has a gold coin hidden in it, not unlike the three kings cake of New Orleans and Spanish cultures. The following master formula can be used as the base for any of these breads, and some specific holiday variations follow. The formula uses a wild-yeast starter, along with a spiking of commercial yeast, to create an authentic-tasting, yet manageable, bread. Nowadays, most versions are made completely from commercial yeast, but this is only a recent innovation. If you do not have any barm on hand, you may replace it with an equal amount of poolish. The fermentation and proofing times will remain the same.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 large loaf
Ingredients
Optional Glaze
Preparation
Step 1
Remove the measured amount of barm from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. (If using poolish, make it the day before.)
Step 2
Stir together the flour, salt, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the barm or poolish, the extracts, eggs, honey, oil, and milk. Stir together with a sturdy spoon (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the dough forms a ball.
Step 3
Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add more milk or flour as needed to form the dough into a soft, but not sticky, ball. It should be tacky and very supple. Knead (or mix) for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F.
Step 4
Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment the dough at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until it doubles in size.
Step 5
Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a boule, as shown on page 72. Transfer it to a sheet pan that has been lined with baking parchment. Mist the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
Step 6
Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size.
Step 7
Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
Step 8
Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and registers 190°F. It should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. You may glaze the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven, if desired.
Step 9
To make the glaze, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and extract and turn off the heat. Reheat the glaze, if necessary, before applying it to the bread. Brush the loaves with the glaze and immediately sprinkle the loaves with sesame seeds.
Step 10
Transfer the bread to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.
BREAD PROFILE
Step 11
Enriched, standard dough; indirect method; commercial yeast or mixed leavening method
DAYS TO MAKE: 1 or 2
Step 12
Day 1: 1 hour to de-chill barm; 15 minutes mixing; 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 40 to 45 minutes baking (for poolish version: 3 to 4 hours poolish)
Step 13
Day 2: (Poolish version only) 1 hour to de-chill poolish; 15 mintes mixing; 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 40 to 45 minutes baking
COMMENTARY
Step 14
If you can find authentic spices like mahleb (also called mahlepi seed, extracted from the pits of Santa Lucia cherries) and ground mastic, you can substitute them in equal measure for the spices listed (mahleb for the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice; mastic for the clove).
BAKER’S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
Step 15
Artos %
Step 16
Barm: 43.8%
Step 17
Bread flour: 100%
Step 18
Salt: 1.6%
Step 19
Instant yeast: 1.1%
Step 20
Spices: 1.3%
Step 21
Citrus & other extracts: 2%
Step 22
Eggs: 20.6%
Step 23
Honey; 16.7%
Step 24
Olive oil: 12.5%
Step 25
Milk: 37.5%
Step 26
Total: 237.1%
