Christopsomo Christmas Bread
This recipe comes to us from Katerina’s Kouzina — She writes “Christopsomo literally means “Christ’s Bread”, which we make a few days before Christmas. Making Christopsomo is a tradition that dates back thousands of years and is considered sacred in Greece. There is always a cross on the top of the bread that represents the cross of Christ”
Head to her site for more fun facts on this Greek Christmas Recipe!
INGREDIENTS
280 ml of water at room temperature
7 grams of dry yeast
60 grams granulated sugar
50 ml Kefi L!fe EVOO
1/2 kg of flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
100 grams walnuts (chopped)
100 grams raisins
1 egg (beaten)
FOR DECORATION
A few cloves
1 walnut, in it’s shell
Some shelled walnuts
Some of the dough to form the decorations
Sesame seeds
Some almonds
DIRECTIONS
Mix the yeast with the warm water and the half of the sugar, stir until dissolved and set it aside until it bubbles.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt, cinnamon and ground cloves with the flour. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix until a soft dough forms, cover with waxed paper and a damp towel, and set aside to rise for 15 minutes.
Punch the dough down and knead for several minutes. Add the raisins and the walnuts and knead well to a homogenous dough!
Cover, and allow it to rise for 1/2 hour. Take a part of the dough and set it aside.
Create a nice, soft ball from the dough, with your hands, and shape the bread as I have in the pictures. Cover a baking pan with ovenproof paper, put the dough on it, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest while you are creating the decorations.
Roll the saved dough into strips and create the cross. Brush the top of your bread with a beaten egg and set the cross on the top. Decorate it with walnuts and cloves or anything you like. Brush again with the rest of the egg.
Bake in a hot oven at 200 °C for 25 to 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 170 °C and bake it for another 10 minutes.
