Artos: Greek Celebration Bread

Before I share the story behind this very large loaf of bread, I want to announce the two winners of the Oikos Greek Yogurt contest. Using the online random number generator the winners are: #3 (Kristin from Going Country) and #2 (Allie from Screwed Up Texan). Congratulations! Send me an email with your address (phoo-dATphoo-d.com). I was blown away by all the kind comments. I knew that the best part about this blog is my interaction with you but reading your comments confirmed that I have wonderful readers. Thank you!

Now back to the bread. If you have been following along for a while, you may note that this is the first loaf of bread to appear on the site. My skills in the kitchen fall primarily into the cooking category with only brief forays into baked goods. Working with dough begins to make me nervous and when you elevate it to working with a live yeast starter I break into a sweat. One of my kitchen goals for 2009 was to learn how to make San Francisco style sourdough bread. Mr. B gave me a sourdough starter and ceramic canister for Christmas and I have somehow managed to keep it "alive" over the past six months. Yet my attempts at sourdough bread repeatedly created nothing more than inedible hockey pucks, which sat on my counter mocking me until I finally threw them into the garbage. I quickly came to the realization that I had no clue what I was doing and needed professional help.

Searching for help online, The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart was touted as the perfect resource for those wanting to become schooled in the art of making bread. It promised to break down the process in a technical but easy to understand manner- just what I needed. Only a week after my book arrived I saw a query from Nicole at Pinch My Salt asking if anyone wanted to join her in a bread baking challenge. She was going to bake one recipe a week from The Bread Baker's Apprentice until she had baked her way through the entire book from start to finish. With a significant amount of trepidation I decided I would take on the challenge. Over 200 people from around the world also decided to join in and the flour started flying. The group is closed to new members to keep it from growing to an unmanageable size, but everyone is encouraged to "bake along" or read along by following this page.

Making the Artos Greek Celebration Bread

My first bread from the book was a failure. It didn't rise enough and then deflated in the oven. (I'm still figuring out why.) At that point I seriously wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into. Luckily, the second loaf, a Greek Celebration Bread, turned out beautifully- rising until it was bigger than my head! Seasoned with grated orange peel, almond extract, cinnamon, and cloves this bread has an entrancing aroma. The texture is somewhat similar to an egg bread with a crackly outer crust and a densely rich interior crumb- delicious. It truly is a celebration of bread and is fitting for a holiday since the loaf is big enough to feed a large group of people.

I am not going to post recipes from the book, but will share any delicious successes or embarassing stories of utter failure as I march onward through the challenge. If you are interested in learning how to conquer bread baking I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Bread Baker's Apprentice and follow along!