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Bread Making

Bread starter - From scratch

Bread starter - From old dough/starter

Starter from old starter – use all or part of old starter, dissolve it in water with flour. When it rises it’s ready for bread making.

If old starter is mouldy, scrape the clean bottom part, dissolve in water and add flour for a stiff dough. Ready for bread making when it doubles in size.

Adding the flour for a stiff dough starter.

Dough

Add flour to the dissolved starter, mixing with a wooden spoon until easy to do so.

Remove the wooden spoon and continue by hand.

Knead the dough by hand, using both fists for easier and effective kneading.

Dough is ready when it feels smooth – like a baby’s bottom.

Another way of checking readiness is to push a wet finger in the dough, if it springs back quickly, dough is ready.

Cover the dough and keep it in a warm place until it doubles in size or cracks.

Once shaped, place the loaf in a bread tin. The dough only fills half of the tin to allow for rising.

Place the loaf in an oiled bread tin with the fold facing down. Notice: the round loaf with the fold facing up. Cover the loaves and wait until they double in size or crack.

Keep a piece of the dough for the next bread making as a starter. Add flour and knead until stiff.

Place in salted bowl with the folds facing down and keep in a cool ventilated place for the next bread making.

Dough in traditional wooden trough

Baking

Score the round loaves so that the dough rises in the hot oven without cracking. The oven temperature is about 210°C.

Alternatively, score the top to avoid unpredictable cracking.

Close door to avoid loss of heat and to keep moisture in.

Tap bottom of the loaf. Ready when a deep hollow sound is produced.

Baked to perfection – notice the rising.

Spring Onion Pie

Ingredients Spring onion Mint Onion Parsley Course corn flour White

Black Eye Bean Casserole

Ingredients Black Eye Beans Wild Greens eg. Thistle, Dandelion Celery

On their knees

While most men get on their knees only once in their lifetime, gardeners like myself do it all the time to get rid of the weeds!

Chickpea Soup

Ingredients Chickpeas Celery Carrot Parsley Diced Tomato Onion Olive Oil

The traditional Mediterranean Diet

The traditional Mediterranean diet (i.e. the diet of this region before the 1960’s) is promoted as healthy and protective against disease. The Greek diet is regarded as the prototype Mediterranean diet. Traditionally, due to their dietary and lifestyle practices, the Greeks have very good health and life expectancy – without an expensive health care system. In Greece, the people of the island of Crete have a better health record and perhaps not surprisingly, the highest consumption of olive oil (25 litres per capita) in the world.

The Greek traditional diet is based largely on fresh, unprocessed seasonal plant foods. It is low in saturated fat and high in dietary fibre, starch, antioxidant vitamins (from cereals, fruit and vegetables) and polyphenols (from wine and olive oil).

Bread Making

Bread starter - From scratch

Bread starter - From old dough/starter

Dough

Dough in traditional wooden trough

Baking

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Spring Onion Pie

Black Eye Bean Casserole

On their knees

Chickpea Soup

The traditional Mediterranean Diet

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