Since the 5th century B.C., bread was made from barley here in Greece since the morphology of the land discouraged any cultivation. From 5th century B.C. and forward, thanks to trade with Egypt, the cultivation of wheat begins to expand in Greece.
Bread was a basic and very important element of the Greek diet from the ancient years and Greece was the greatest importer of wheat in the ancient world. It is estimated that the country consumed about 17,000 tons of wheat per year that was coming mainly from Black Sea.
Wheat played a major role in ancient Greek world and usually the dough was baked in elevated clay ovens. Bread was eaten dunked into wine especially as breakfast. It was so important that they offered it to rituals in honor of the twelve gods.
All civilizations have in their food range some type of bread. Either loaf or flat, it is an integral part of mankind’s diet. Easy to make, with just few common ingredients is enough to feed a crowd. During wars bread helped people avoid starvation and gave them the power to overcome their difficulties.
I love the smell of homemade bread more than anything. It gives me a sense of reassuring and coziness and a strong feeling of home. Since I am working, I do not have the luxury of time and thus I rarely make my own bread. The many hours of waiting are a barrier I cannot overcome with my busy schedule. I was aware of all the recipes that required no kneading but still the hours of waiting were too long and by the time the bread would be ready, my head would fall from my hands from sleep.
I googled about my options and after quite a research I stumbled upon a recipe from a guy who claimed that he only needed two hours to make a fine crusty bread. When it comes to fast, I always trust men, ha-ha! They know exactly how to perform fast and they are lazy enough to choose the fastest way about everything, unlike women, who are most of the times perfectionists and follow several rituals to prove it. Once again, I was so right. The bread is so easy even a child can do it and indeed it took me two hours from beginning to end. I definitely recommend you to try it. It is the bread of the weekdays but also a bread for those lazy weekends when you want to spend more time outside the kitchen rather than inside.
- 400gr. / 14 oz. all-purpose flour
- 250 ml / 8.5 fl oz. lukewarm water
- 50 ml / 1,5 fl oz. lukewarm water
- 8gr. / 1 ½ tsp dried yeast
- 3 hipped tsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- Place the yeast into a small bowl and pour the 50 ml of the water.
- Mix and let the yeast to activate and froth up for about 15 minutes.
- In your stand mixer add all the dry ingredients and with the hook mix to incorporate.
- Add the activated yeast and then the water and mix well until the flour is completely combined.
- Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place to expand for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Now I used a clay pot we normally use for giouvetsi but you can use either a loaf tin or a pan which you can either grease and flour or cover with parchment paper.
- Take the dough, deflate it with your hands, fold it a few times and place it in your pan.
- Take a sharp knife and make some deep cuts into the top of the loaf and sprinkle on some flour before setting aside in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat to 230˚C / 450˚F.
- Place the dough into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or according to how brown you like your crust.
- Remove from the oven and pan immediately after baking and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- 400 γρ. αλεύρι για όλες τις χρήσεις
- 250 ml χλιαρό νερό
- 50 ml χλιαρό νερό
- 8 γρ. ξηρή μαγιά
- 3 κ.γ. ζάχαρη
- 1 ½ κ.γ. αλάτι
- Τοποθετήστε τη μαγιά σε ένα μικρό μπολ και ρίξτε τα 50 ml νερό.
- Ανακατέψτε και αφήστε τη μαγιά να ενεργοποιηθεί και να αφρίσει για περίπου 15 λεπτά.
- Στο μίξερ σας προσθέστε όλα τα στεγνά συστατικά και ανακατέψτε με τον γάντζο για να ενσωματωθούν.
- Προσθέστε την ενεργοποιημένη μαγιά, και στη συνέχεια το νερό και ανακατέψτε καλά μέχρι να ομογενοποιηθεί το αλεύρι.
- Σκεπάστε με μια πετσέτα και αφήστε σε ζεστό μέρος να φουσκώσει για 1 ώρα ή μέχρι η ζύμη έχει διπλασιαστεί σε μέγεθος.
- Αν έχετε πήλινο για γιουβέτσι μπορείτε να το χρησιμοποιήστε αλλιώς χρησιμοποιήστε ένα ταψί.
- Λαδώστε και αλευρώστε ή απλώστε αντικολλητικό χαρτί.
- Πάρτε την ζύμη, ξεφουσκώστε τη με τα χέρια σας, διπλώστε τη μερικές φορές και τοποθετήστε τη στο σκεύος.
- Πάρτε ένα αιχμηρό μαχαίρι και κάντε μερικές βαθιές τομές στην κορυφή και πασπαλίστε με λίγο αλεύρι.
- Αφήστε τη σε ζεστό μέρος να φουσκώσει για περίπου 30 λεπτά.
- Προθερμάνετε το φούρνο στους 230˚C.
- Τοποθετήστε τη ζύμη στον προθερμασμένο φούρνο και ψήστε για 25-30 λεπτά ή σύμφωνα με το πόσο σκούρα σας αρέσει η κόρα.
- Βγάλτε το από το φούρνο και το ταψί αμέσως μετά το ψήσιμο και αφήστε το να κρυώσει σε μία σχάρα.
