Athienou Bread

Name: Athienou Bread
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: Hard flour (Village Flour) Lukewarm bottled water; Lukewarm bottled water or holy water from the Feast of the Cross (September 14); 2 tbsp sourdough starter (50gr); ⅕ cup lukewarm water (50gr); ⅖ cup hard flour (Village Flour) (100gr); A pinch of salt; 1 kg hard flour (Village Flour); 1 tsp salt (8gr); ⅖ cup refreshed sourdough starter (200gr); 2 ½ cup lukewarm water (approx. 600ml)

Summer 2017, Agios Theodoros. I’m at the Women’s Rural Association of Larnaca. Another gastronomic seminar is taking place, and I’m thrilled—as I always am when I get the chance to learn from people who preserve and celebrate Cyprus’s culinary traditions. Right beside me sits the lovely pastry chef Paraskevi Loulli from Athienou, showing us how to make the famous Athienitic bread. “Just flour, salt, sourdough starter, and water,” I hear her say. Her voice and the way she describes the recipe instantly take me back to my childhood. As a little girl, I used to go to the traditional bakery in Kofinou and help out with small tasks. Every now and then, I’d stand there, fascinated, watching the kneading and shaping of the loaves. I always wondered about the cuts they made around each loaf with a razor before baking. I later learned the reason: “so that the bread expands evenly while baking.” Even today, whenever I visit Kofinou, I always stop by the traditional bakery to buy bread from our family friends. And if it’s a busy hour, I gladly put on an apron and rush to help. Some habits never fade...

INGREDIENTS

For the Sourdough Starter (Prozymi)

• Hard flour (Village Flour) Lukewarm bottled water
• Lukewarm bottled water or holy water from the Feast of the Cross (September 14)

For Refreshing the Starter (Anatzinima)

• 2 tbsp sourdough starter (50gr)
• ⅕ cup lukewarm water (50gr)
• ⅖ cup hard flour (Village Flour) (100gr)
• A pinch of salt

For the Bread

• 1 kg hard flour (Village Flour)
• 1 tsp salt (8gr)
• ⅖ cup refreshed sourdough starter (200gr)
• 2 ½ cup lukewarm water (approx. 600ml)

METHOD

1. For the sourdough starter (Prozymi): In a small jar, put 1/5 cup (50ml) lukewarm water or Holy Water and add 2 ½ spoons of flour (50gr). Mix well, we will have a stiff dough. Place the lid over the jar, leaving a crack for it to “breathe” as my mother says. On the 2nd day, we won't see any difference. Add 50ml lukewarm water and 50gr flour to the jar. Mix well. We will have a thick batter. Place the lid over the jar, leaving a crack. We repeat the same on the third day. Here we will see that our starter has a few bubbles. On the fourth day, we double the quantities of lukewarm bottled water (100gr) and flour (100gr). We do the same on the fifth day. We already see that our starter has many bubbles and is ready. If not, we should repeat the process for one more day. To use this starter, we must refresh it (“wake it up” or “feed it”), meaning add water and flour. To store it, put it in an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator. When we refresh it, we take it out to bring it to room temperature.
2. For refreshing the starter (Anatzinima): In a bowl, put the starter, the water, and rub with our fingers until the starter dissolves. Add the flour, the salt, and knead until we have a fluffy dough. Place it in a bowl and score a cross on its surface. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and set aside to rise. In the summer, our starter is ready in 2 - 4 hours. In the winter, it takes 5 - 12 hours, always depending on the quantity.
3. For the kneading: When the refreshed starter is ready, we begin the process for the bread. In a bowl (in the past, they used a kneading trough), put the starter and pour in the water. Rub with your fingers to dissolve the starter. Add the salt and little by little the flour. Knead, wetting our hands with water until we have a soft (maroulato) dough. If we have a mixer, knead with the hook for 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. Cut the dough in half. Sprinkle our work surface with a little flour and shape them (thiartizουμε). That is, take a piece, sprinkle a little flour and form a ball, holding it from the top center. Turn it circularly on the counter with our palm. This way the bottom of the bread becomes pointed and the top flat.
4. Cover a bread basket (or 'goupposanido' or 'voupousanido' or 'pinakoti' as it is otherwise called) or a deep plate with a cloth and sprinkle it with a little flour. Place the bread with the pointed side facing up. Sprinkle it with a little flour and cover it with a woolen cloth and a blanket. We do the same for the second loaf. Let them rise for 2 - 3 hours, depending on the weather conditions. To check if they are ready, press the dough with a finger; if the dough springs back, then it's time to bake. Another trick to see if our loaves are ready is to cut a piece of dough and put it in a cup of tap water. When the dough floats to the surface, we are ready to bake. Place non-stick baking paper on the oven tray and put the loaves inside, after turning them upside down. With a sharp knife or a blade, score them all around, circularly, and make a cross in the middle of their surface. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C convection for 50 minutes.

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Athienou Bread

INGREDIENTS

For the Sourdough Starter (Prozymi)

For Refreshing the Starter (Anatzinima)

For the Bread

METHOD

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INGREDIENTS

For the Sourdough Starter (Prozymi)

For Refreshing the Starter (Anatzinima)

For the Bread

METHOD

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