Greek Village Bread Recipe
Hi Guys several have asked for my recipe and so I have sent it to those but I am posting it here for you to try. This is a very adaptable recipe. I am not a great baker and it works for me every time. No failures even from the first attempt. That to me is a great recipe.
Here it is: (I have adapted it from the original but all the flavor is preserved so it isn't a issue to me.)
Rhonda's Greek Village Bread Recipe:
Greek Bread The Sourdough Starter_
½ oz fresh yeast or 1 tbs. dry yeast (freeze your dry yeast for up to an year, can be used straight from the freezer) (I used King Arthur.com brand of yeast)
2 cups tepid water
½ lb whole-wheat flour or any flour of your choice (1/2 lbs=1 ¼ cups
Put a lttle water in med sized bowl and add in yeast. Using a fork, mash it together until smooth paste. Add the remaining water and stir it in while slowly adding flour to mixture. The consistency should be like a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and cover with a nice thick kitchen towel and place aside in warm place to ferment.
After 24 hours the mixture will be bubbly. You can use it now or keep it up to 4 days and the sourdough will get stronger. Starter can be keep up to a week in the refrigerator but must be revived before using.
I use the above receipe regardless of type of yeast. Some people will add sugar to yeast and water to assure of the yeast’s viability. It is not necessary if you know the yeast is good still. One tsp of sugar is what is most often used.
To revive yeast mixture in refrigeration:
Take the starter out and place in bowl. Add 1 cup of flour and enough water to make a thick batter. Set it aside in warm place for 24 hours to ferment.
Now the Greek Bread itself:
1 Sourdough starter or 1 tbs dry yeast
2 ½ lbs of whole-wheat flour or any flour of your choice. (about 11 cups approx.)
1 tbs salt.
2 ½ to 3 cups of warm water
2 tbs good olive oil
2 tbs milk
2 tbs of honey (optional) I have done with and without this still tastes great.
Although it’s preferable to use the sourdough starter, you can use dry yeast for a quicker version and it will still be delicious. This bread is almost impossible to mess up.
{If you’re using fresh or dry yeast, dilute it in 1 cup of warm water. Into a large mixing bowl, mix the flour with the salt and make a well in the center of it. Pour in the yeast mixture or sour dough starter, oil, milk and honey if you are using it, and the remaining water.}
Place all ingredients into mixing bowl. I usually put the flour starter in first and all liquid ingredients. Then add flour little at a time. Using your hands, incorporate the flour from the sides of the bowl into the mixture. Keep mixing until it is soft and sticky. Flour a work surface, I use parchment paper for easy clean up, turn the dough out onto it, dusted lightly with flour and enough to knead into bread. Keep kneading it until the dough becomes more elastic. Doesn’t need a lot of kneading.
Add a bit of olive oil to a empty mixing bowl, coat sides of bowl thoroughly. I use my fingers to do this. Put the dough in this bowl. Cover with clean kitchen cloth set it aside to rise in a warm place. It needs to double in bulk about 1 -2 hours.
After its risen, punch the dough back down and turn it out onto the floured work space, again I use parchment and then transport shaped bread on parchment to the cookie sheet.
Knead it for another 5 minutes. Divide the dough into 3-4 loaves or any sizes and amounts, Round or cylindrical, the choice is yours. Place them on un-greased pan, or parchment paper. Cover the loaves with a clean towel and allow to rise a second time for about 1 hour.
After the second rising, bake loaves in hot oven -450 f. If they are getting too brown too fast cover loosely with foil. After 20 minutes reduce heat of ovens to 400 f and bake an additional 20 -25 minutes.
Now I place 4-5 slashes on top of my loaves prior to baking about ½ inch deep across the loaves. Makes them look pretty although traditional Greek bread bakers do not do this.
Enjoy. ****For those that would prefer to make the starter and use it by saving a portion to reuse, here are those directions. Save a small portion of the raw dough-about 1/2 lb which is the dough after the risings. Wrap in saran wrap and save in the refrigerator. Take it out the day before you plan to bake and use the directions above for reviving sourdough starter which involves adding one cup of flour and enough water to make dough in a thick batter. Then let it ferment for 24 hours., Next day it should be bubbly and can be used in bread recipe. To me it is easy enough to make a new sourdough starter.
@@@@If you decide you light your bread lighter and airer then place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven when you begin to bake it at 450degrees f, but remove it when you lower heat to 400. the steam that will be released will help your bread to rise more while baking. Again, this isn't traditional to the Islands of Greece where this recipe comes from but it gives the bread a different variation.
Email me at kontosrhonda@att.net with any questions.
I have used a variety of bread and mix it up. I kept trying new ones and so far all tastes great. In Greece, bread tastes different regionally and I decided after trying bread in so many different parts of Greece that it must be the flour used because most all use the same basic recipe. So that is why I have tried so many different flours. In Greece, they don't buy bread at a supermarket, they make it themselves or go to small local bakers to buy fresh. Bread is a staple at every meal. It is divine there!!!
I buy my flour from www.kingarthurflour.com. They have so many different blends, types and they are all of the finest quality. I don't grind it myself I prefer to buy it from them. They are flour experts, I am not. Maybe one day I will try to grind it myself but for now I am happy with my results as are my family. I also buy my yeast from them, freeze it in a plastic yeast container and it is good frozen for up to one year. (and needs nothing to use it straight out of the freezer.)
One more thing, Greek bread is crunchy on the outside but should be moist enough on the inside that if you pinch the bread's interior it should take quite some time to spring back. This is my dearly departed Father in law's test. And he and my MIL, both from Greece, enjoyed my bread with this recipe.
Rhonda K in Indy
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Originally Posted by Grayce
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