Epirus Village Psomi me Prozymi (Ψωμί με Προζύμι Ηπείρου)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •heavy covered baking pot, 24cm to 26cm
• •proofing basket or towel-lined bowl, 22cm
• •bread lame or very sharp razor

Instructions

1. 1

   Feed the prozymi

   The night before baking, stir 60g mature prozymi with 120g lukewarm water until loosened, then mix in 120g strong bread flour. Cover loosely and leave at cool room temperature for 8 to 10 hours, until risen, airy, and faintly sour. It should smell clean, not harsh.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   In a large bowl, mix 450g strong bread flour with 150g fine yellow hard-wheat flour. Add 240g of the fed prozymi and 360g of the water, holding back the last 20g. Mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 30 minutes so the flour drinks properly before you ask it to stretch.

3. 3

   Add salt and oil

   Sprinkle over the salt, add the olive oil, and work them in with wet hands. Add the remaining 20g water only if the dough feels stiff. The dough should be soft and tacky, not pourable. This rest before the salt is the little thing that decides the loaf: it lets the hard-wheat flour soften, so the bread bakes chewy instead of tight.

4. 4

   Fold and rise

   Oil the bowl lightly. Over the next 2 hours, give the dough three folds, one every 30 to 40 minutes: lift one side, stretch it up, fold it over itself, and turn the bowl. After the last fold, cover and let it rise until it looks swollen and alive, usually 3 to 4 hours depending on the room.

5. 5

   Shape the loaf

   Turn the dough onto a lightly dusted counter. Shape it into a round, pulling the surface tight without tearing it. Set it seam-side up in a floured basket or a towel-lined bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours, or leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours if you want to bake the same day.

6. 6

   Heat the oven

   Place a heavy covered pot or baking stone in the oven and heat to 240C for at least 30 minutes. The heat must be ready before the loaf goes in. A cold pot gives you a pale, squat bread, and nobody waited all night for that.

7. 7

   Score and bake

   Turn the loaf onto baking paper, dust off excess flour, and score the top with one firm slash. Lift it into the hot pot, cover, and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover, reduce the oven to 220C, and bake 18 to 22 minutes more, until the crust is deep brown and the loaf sounds hollow underneath.

8. 8

   Cool before cutting

   Cool the bread on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. The crumb is still setting when it comes out of the oven. Cut too soon and it turns gummy under the knife, even if you did everything right.

Chef Tips

• •Use strong bread flour and, if you can find it, fine yellow hard-wheat flour. It gives the Greek village loaf its color and chew. Plain soft flour makes a softer bread, still edible, but not the same bread.
• •Your prozymi should rise after feeding and smell pleasantly sour, like yogurt and grain. If it smells sharp, neglected, or alcoholic, feed it once or twice before you bake.
• •This bread keeps well for 3 days wrapped in a clean towel. After that, toast it, rub it with tomato, or lay thick slices under ladled fasolada. A recipe written down is a recipe saved, but stale bread must still earn its place.

Advance Preparation

• •Feed the prozymi 8 to 10 hours before mixing the dough.
• •Shape the loaf and refrigerate it overnight for better tang and easier baking the next morning.
• •Bake the loaf up to 1 day ahead; let it cool completely before wrapping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 110g)