Wheat bread

Ingredients: (for 2 large loafs):

• 1½ cup of virgin olive oil
• ¾ kg soft white flour
• ½ kg wheat flour
• 1 cup barley flour
• 30 gr moist yeast
• 1 half full teaspoon cumin
• 3 pieces of crushed mastic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 table spoons of sugar

Preparation:

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and add some of the white flour to make a thick batter. Cover with a cotton towel and allow the dough to rise and double in volume.

In the dough that has risen you add the spices, the sugar, the salt, the olive oil and some lukewarm water. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients and, slowly add the flour. Knead well until the dough is smooth and soft, but quite heavy, as it has both barley and wheat flour.

Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover with two cotton towels. Leave it in a warm place at a steady temperature so it can double in volume, which will take about 60-70 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled in volume, place it on a lightly floured sur-face and re-knead with fast movements for 4-5 minutes. Cut it into three pieces and shape them into small loaves.

Place the loaves in slightly oiled baking pans and bake them in a preheated oven at 1000 C for no more than five minutes. Leave the bread for 25-30 minutes so that it can rise again and bake at 180 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

Recipe by Myrsini Lambraki (“Waves of Flavour”, 2009)