Yiayia's Prosphoro

By bakeaholic

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 of a packet instant yeast
• 4 mugs all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt

Details

Servings 1

Preparation

Step 1

1. Empty yeast into a soup bowl and add sugar. Fill bowl with lukewarm water, stir and let yeast soak for 5-10 minutes.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. When yeast is ready, pour into the well after putting salt in the flour first. Stir it a bit in the middle to dissolve the salt. Add a little more lukewarm water and knead the dough. Add water only if needed. After kneading for a while, wet hands and continue kneading until you hear air bubbles popping in the dough and the dough is nice and smooth. The drier the dough the better.
3. Coat a pan with olive oil and flour. Take dough to counter to form an oval. Flatten a little so that it fits into the pan. Flip the dough so that the part that was touching the counter is facing up, and place in the pan.
4. With a skewer, poke 4-5 holes in the middle of the dough. Flour and dust off the stamp. Push it as deep as possible into the dough's center. To remove it, let out the air slowly from one side until the stamp is completely removed.
5. Cover pan with a kitchen towel and place in between two blankets until it has fully risen (approx. 1 hour). Check with your thumb, if it rises after you press it then it's ready.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Before placing dough in oven, poke holes with a skewer in the corners of the stamp line. With a knife, run around the edge of the pan and poke some deep holes around stamp dough.
7. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Take bread out of pan and turn upside down. Allow bottom to bake and get some colour.
8. When done baking, remove bread from pan and with a damp towel (using cold water), sweep over the entire prosphoro.
9. Cover with a dry towel and stand on its side to cool completely.