BBA#2 Artos: Greek Celebration Bread

After hearing all the oohs and ahhs generated by Artos (a.k.a. Greek Celebration Bread) from my fellow BBAC bakers who made the bread, I really had high expectation and couldn't wait to give it a try.

While I am fond of bread with dried fruits and nuts, Bob is not so crazy about baked goods with dried fruits, particularly raisins, and nuts.  So I decided to make both versions by dividing the dough into two: one with dried fruits & nuts, the other one without.  After all, what motivates me to take on this bread-baking challenge is for Bob and I to break bread together.  And hubby's 'enjoyment is, without a doubt, the most satisfying reward for my labor! :)

Made poolish on Friday evening after coming home from work.  I followed Reinhart's instruction to stir all ingredients "...until all of the flour is hydrated.  The mixture was quite sticky and somewhat dry at first, but I resisted the urge to add more water and just let it sit.  After one and half an hour later, foams and bubbles started to appear, which put me at ease.  By the time hubby and I were ready for bed, the bubbly poolish was ready for an overnight beauty sleep in fridge too.

Instead of sleeping in late on Saturday morning, I committed the crime of getting up early on weekend to get the Greek Celebration Bread started.  Just when I thought it's going to be smooth sailing, I ran into a problem - the dough was apparently too wet & sticky to form a ball. 

My solution -- after adding 1/2 cup of flour to the dough, scraping down the sides of mixing bowl, and letting the mixer run a few more minutes longer, the dough did finally pull away from the sides of the bowl and gather into a ball.

After replacing the paddle with dough hook, I continued to mix the dough at medium speed for about 8 minutes until it became tacky & supple.  The dough clung to the dough hook beautifully and passed the windowpane test like a breeze!

I happen to have Attiki Greek Honey at home, so that's what I used for making this bread.  In the dough with dried fruits and nuts, I added dried cherry, dried fig and chopped walnut.  (After tasting the end product, I think I will like it even better with some raisins.)

 

Learned to make boule for the first time with hubby's help!  I had no problem with the dough without dried fruits and nuts, but it's a bit tricky to shape the other half of the dough without causing the bits of dried fruits and nuts to stick out.  I actually had to do some patching work to smooth out the surface of the boule.  Knowing hubby and I won't be able to finish a big loaf all at once, I made the dough into four boules.      

It took more than two hours for my boules to double in size.

Although the boules rose beautifully, they were a bit 'huge' to be baked in the oven in two racks at the same time, which explains the somewhat burnt top of the two out of the four loaves I got. (It took less than 20 minutes for the bread to register at 190F.)  Fortunately, the bread still tastes delicious with the burnt crust!!

Comments

[Jenn @ Pete Eatemall]

Looks so good! Love the pictures. Now on to bagels! Happy baking!

[AJM]

Good idea- halfsies with the add-ins. You have a beautiful kitchen, I am envious:)

[Donna@WayMoreHomemade]

Looks nice. I'll be working on this later in the week.

[Susie]

Looks great. Loved your photos and write up. :)
Susie

[mags]

Great job! I'm really enjoying seeing everyone's finished products.

[nico]

very nice, good job, I also had to add extra flour.

[Sweet and Savory]

Thanks AJM! It took us four years of planning and four months of construction to make our dream kitchen come true. We love cooking together in our kitchen and can't imagine living elsewhere. (The only downside of having a large kitchen is the amount of work it takes to keep it clean!)

[Sweetcharity]

Great pictures!!
I was amazed at how huge this loaf was (I made one giant boule- wish I'd halved the recipe)...
I also have kitchen envy!!