Psomi Greek Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Sift flour into a mixing bowl and place into a low oven to warm.
• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, then stir in remaining water, salt, and sugar.
• Remove flour from oven; take 2 cups of flour from the bowl and set aside.
• Make a well in the remaining flour and pour in the liquid; stir in a little of the flour until the liquid gets thick, then cover the bowl and leave in a warm place until the mixture is frothy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir the rest of the flour into the liquid, and add the butter/oil gradually, beating with a wooden spoon or mixing with your hands until smooth (about 10 minutes), or alternatively, use a dough hook/mixer for 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle a little flour onto a board, and turn the dough out; gradually mix in some of the flour you had set aside earlier.
• Only knead in enough to keep the dough from sticking; dough is ready when it is satiny, and the surface is slightly wrinkled; shape into a ball.
• Oil the dough, and place in bowl, making sure the top side is oiled completely; cover bowl with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place for 1-1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Punch down and make into 2 pieces; turn onto floured surface, and form each into a torpedo-shape.
• Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with semolina; place the dough well apart on the sheet and cut 4 diagonal slashes across the dough; cover with a cloth and allow to proof in a warm place until doubled again, about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Place a dish of boiling water on the bottom of the oven; spray bread lightly with a mister and bake in preheated oven for approx 35-40 minutes; after first 15 minutes, mist again with water, then again 10 minutes later.
• Cool on a rack when done.

Steps:

• Stir together the water and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and set aside until bubbly, 15 minutes.
• Place the 3 1/2 cups flour and salt in a large bowl and mix with a fork. Make a well in the center and add the 1/4 cup oil, the zest, garlic, olives, and yeast mixture. Stir together until fairly well mixed; then use your hands to knead the mixture into a crumbly ball.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, 10 minutes. Lightly bush the dough with oil, cover it with a cloth, and set it aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Lightly grease a baking sheet with oil. Punch down the dough and knead it again for 1 minutes. Pat the dough into a ball and flatten it slightly to make a round about 6 inches in diameter. Place the dough round on the prepared baking sheet and set it aside in a warm place until doubled in bulk again, about 1 1/2 hours.
• When ready to bake the bread, preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Place the bread in the oven and bake until quite golden, 30 minutes. Brush the top and sides of the loaf liberally with oil and continue baking until browned and hollow sounding when tapped, 5 minutes more.
• Remove the bread from the oven and cool on the baking sheet until ready to serve.
• VARIATION: Olive Cheese Bread: Olive Garlic Bread easily turns into another Cypriot loaf, a cheese and olive bread. Omit (or leave in) the garlic and lemon zest and add 1 cup grated cheese, preferably Cypriot haloumi.
• THE NONTRADITIONAL CHOICE:.
• While it is easier to use Kalamata olives (they are readily available and can be bought pitted), traditionally Cypriotic olive breads use only oil-cured or oil-and-salt-brined olives, never those that are cured even partly in vinegar, as Kalamatas are. Cyprus produces both green and black olives, plump to wrinkled, cured in numerous ways. Using Kalamata olives for the olive flatbread, the taste of the bread, while slightly tarter than the traditional, is still excellent.
• Adventures In Greek Cooking.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of flour and mix until all lumps of flour have dissolved, to form a thick liquid. Allow to rise about 15-20 minutes.
• Sift the remaining flour with the salt, put in a large mixing bowl, and make a well in the center. Add oil, honey, milk, yeast mixture (or sourdough starter), and 2 cups of the water in the well. Pulling in the flour slowly, mix with hands until it's a cohesive mass. (If more water is needed, add in small amounts from the remaining 1/2 cup.) Turn out onto a floured surface and continue kneading until the dough is nice and smooth and no longer sticks to the hands.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled mixing bowl and roll until all sides of the dough are lightly oiled. Cover the bowl with 3 dishtowels: one dry, one dampened with warm water (wet towel and wring out), and the other dry. Place in a warm place and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch down and knead for 5-6 minutes on a floured surface. Divide the dough into the number of loaves you want to make (this works well in 3-4 loaves), and form into round or oblong or baguette shaped loaves. Place several inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets and cover with 3 clean dishtowels (the middle one damp). In a warm place, allow the loaves to rise for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450F (220C).
• For a thicker crust, score the tops of the loaves in 3 or 4 places (see photo). Otherwise, bake as is on the rack just below the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes until browned. When tapped on the bottom, bread will sound hollow.
• When the loaves are done, remove from oven and cool on racks.

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in the water.
• Mix the sugar, cardamom, salt, egg, milk and oil in a bowl.
• Add the yeast, both types of flour, raisins and nuts.
• Mix well.
• Add enough flour to make soft dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Shape into a round loaf.
• Put the dough into a lightly greased 8" round cake pan.
• Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (usually about 1 hour or so).
• Bake in a 350°F oven for 40 minutes.

Steps:

• Add all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer's instructions.
• Set crust on medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start.
• When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack; let cool to room temperature before slicing.