Eliopsomo (homemade bread with olives)

Posted on Nov 17, 2010 in How to... | 25 comments

INGREDIENTS

• 1kgr durum flour
• 1kgr wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• bread yeast (prozimi)
• lukewarm water
• olive oil for greasing the baking pan
• olives cut into pieces

METHOD

1. From last evening preparing the dough:
2. Take the dough that you keep from the last time you made bread and dissolve in lukewarm water (careful not too hot because it will burn the enzymes and will not rise!).
3. Strain it in a medium-large saucepan and add some flour, stirring with a spoon until it becomes a thick porridge.
4. Cover the pan and wrap with a thick cloth (or blanket).
5. The morning has risen and has almost filled the saucepan.
6. In a large bowl, sift flour, stir them and make a hole in the center.
7. Add there the salt, dilute with a little water (careful again not too hot) and pour the prozimi (bread yeast) from the pot.
8. Add little by little lukewarm water and knead well until flour moistened and make a soft dough.
9. Knead for 10 minutes approximately until the dough become soft.
10. When dough is ready, keep 1 small ball into a bowl, to have prozimi for next time. (Cover with the lid gently, and let it rise. When inflated, press it to sit in the volume and leave rise again. After 2 days, put in on the refrigerator if you are going to make bread the next 7-8 days. Otherwise keep it in the freezer and when you need it, just remove it from the freezer for 7-10 hours to thaw).
11. Then take a piece of dough and roll out with our hands.
12. Put the olive pieces on the surface and a little olive oil.
13. Cover the dough crosswise, wrap a roll and then re-knead to mix the dough with olives.
14. Grease with some olive oil a baking pan, add a piece of dough (fill half height of baking pan), and press gently with your hands to go around the pan so you don’t have empty space.
15. Cover and leave until doubled in volume.
16. With a knife, make a hole in the middle (can deflate a bit, do not be afraid).
17. Bake in preheated oven at 180oC-200oC for 35′-45′ until golden brown.
18. When removed from the oven, pass a clean wet cloth towel on top (which is golden brown) to polish the surface.
19. Place the pan upside down on a thick kitchen towel and cover well from above (with thick towels) to sweat and baking pan can be removed (leave it on towels until baking pan can be removed itself.)