This week, the BBA group, which is baking its way through Peter Reinhart’s classic, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, made Artos, or Greek Celebration Bread. Originally, I had planned to make Christopsomos, which includes fruits and nuts, but as you will see, my brain was on cruise control while I was making this bread, and I completely forgot to add them, even though they were sitting on my counter. I also used the poolish option in the recipe.
I won’t keep you in suspense: I loved this bread. Phenomenal flavor, and while it baked it perfumed the entire house. Lesson learned: pay attention when you’re baking, or you will over-proof your dough. My sourdough-only breads (I don’t use any commercial yeast in them at all) take a long time to rise so, out of habit, I was a bit absent-minded when I was making this, and let it rise for an hour longer than it should have. When I wandered into the kitchen again, an ENORMOUS loaf of dough greeted me. I popped it into the oven, and was surprised to find that it did not collapse, at least not right away. That happened while the bread cooled on the counter, but I still had a gargantuan loaf of bread on my hands. You can compare the size in this picture to my kettle and my 6-quart Dutch oven (sorry the pic is a tad blurry):
It was at least six inches high, and about a 10 inches across. My husband’s eyes bugged out when he saw it.
Here is a photo of the slight collapse:
I will definitely make this bread again; it’s easy, and packs an enormous flavor wallop. The bread is delicious plain or toasted. And be sure to make simple glaze, because it send the loaf over the top. I had orange oil on hand, instead of orange extract, so I used 1/4 tsp. of that in the glaze. I sprinkled flax seeds on top because I couldn’t find my sesame seeds at the time. I have since tracked them down. All three pounds of them. One can never have too many sesame seeds on hand.
You can find a list of those participating, here, and you can find the recipe on-line, here. Until next week, when we bake bagels, which I’ve never made before, so I’m looking forward to it! And please check out Susan’s bread baking roundup every Friday: Yeastspotting.
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19 users responded in this post
Wow – impressive size! And I’ll bet it tastes as good as it looks!
looks gorgeous and delicious! and I’m soooo jealous of your lovely stove. 🙂
Your bread is beautiful. Great job.
🙂
Susie
It really was a huge loaf. It looks great! That little hole at the top – they say that’s where the baker lives.
This bread really was huge, wasn’t it? I really liked all the add-ins, but I’m sure it would taste pretty awesome without them. French toast, anyone?
I’m glad you’re doing the challenge as well. Made the Christopsomos and was not too crazy about the taste at first. Now I like it a bit more. Getting use to spices in my bread.
I loved this bread, all the flavorings. I’m definitely making it again.
This is really beautiful – and huge! I love how big it got! I’ve been going out of order (since I’m not in the official group), but I might have to make bagels next…it just sounds like such a challenge!
Yes that collapse does tell you it over rose but gracious you still have a beautiful crumb too. Wonderful loaf.
Loved the photo of the slight collapse! That is one mother of a bread. Thanks for sharing your experience.
OK, I’ll never forget that comment – that is so cute!
Wow, that’s quite the loaf! I love the comparison to your Dutch oven. =) I did a braid, and even that seemed enormous. I skipped the glaze, but it sounds like I should have done it.
Wow, that bread looks like it could take over your kitchen! I forget to add ingredients ALL the time, but usually because I’m “multi-tasking” (a nice term for scatterbrained).
Gorgeous and delicious bread! I have yet to master the bread baking 🙂
I haven’t made this one yet (And I haven’t posted the Anadama bread yet!) but you TOTALLY have me dying to make this one, now! It looks so good!
Holy crow, that IS a giant loaf! Were you able to eat it all? French toast? Bread pudding?
Susan –
I am embarrassed to admit that my husband and I ate the whole thing within a few days. We ate it in sandwiches and toasted. It was very tasty, very tasty indeed.
[…] Artos, or Greek Celebration Bread […]
That is one “mother” of a bread. I’ll bet is was delicious despite the mishaps. I can just imagine it toasted for breakfast or tea.