George's Prosphora Recipe



George's Prosphora Recipe

(Byzantine Style)

Note: This recipe has been compiled from numerous sources and various experiments, first posted January 31, 1999. Since that time, I have modified the recipe somewhat to reflect further experimentation.  I am constantly looking for new ways to improve.

This recipe makes four Byzantine style loaves.

Ingredients

• High-gluten or regular bleached flour - 14 cups

• Hot (~100 degrees) water - 4 cups

• Active Dry Yeast - 1 1/2 Tbsp.

• Salt - 2 Tsp.

• Nothing else! I'll comment later on why.

 

Instructions

1. Place 12 cups of flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, mix the dry ingredients until blended.

2. Mix in all of the water, stirring with the spoon until the dough begins to clump up. When you can't use the spoon any longer, begin to knead the dough with your hands. Mash the clumps of dough into a single ball.

3. Here's where you need to stop and look at your workplace. To avoid kneading injuries, you need to be able to work the dough with straight arms.

If you are short, like me, you can put the bread in the bowl and do your kneading on the floor in a kneeling position. Otherwise, put the ball on a floured board on your sink and start to work it.

4. Knead the dough with the heel of your palms, both pressing down and pushing the ball away from you. You shouldn't just press the dough, but stretch it out. The reason for this will be covered elsewhere. Knead the dough for 20 minutes . As you knead, stretch and slam the dough frequently to aerate the dough.

5. The consistency you are trying to achieve is crucial. I suggest the following: first, add more rather than less water right off the bat, then add flour to achieve the right consistency. Adding water to dry dough is messy, whereas adding flour to wet dough is a bit easier and faster. Second, the proper consistency is judged by pushing the well-mixed dough ball with a finger up to the second knuckle. If the dough sticks to the end of your finger but not the sides, you have the proper consistency. The dough, if folded over and pushed, should "heal" and not remain two pieces. Yet, it shouldn't stick to lightly floured, smooth surfaces. Add flour as you knead until you get the right consistency. This takes practice!

6. After 15-20 minutes have passed (or you collapse from exhaustion), cover the dough with plastic wrap in a bowl with enough room for the dough to grow. Leave a little gap or two for air to escape, but not enough for real circulation to occur and harden the surface of the ball. Place this in a warm place, like the oven before use. The heat from the pilot usually makes the oven ideal for rising (~80 degrees is sufficient).

7. Allow the dough to rise long enough to double in size (usually no more than 90 minutes).

8. Set your oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set your rack in the lower section of the oven.  For a softer crust, consult the page on Steam Baking.

9. Take the bowl and uncover the dough. Grabbing the sides of the ball where it is sticking to the bowl, pull it away from the sides and punch it down in the center. Keep doing this until the dough is roughly the same size it was before it began to rise. Bust air bubbles as they surface and knead for a few minutes.

10. Cut the ball into four equal pieces (the picture is from a larger batch). Work three of them into separate balls, place them back in the bowl and cover again. The piece left over will be your first loaf. Place it on a floured board, and cut it in half.

11. Choose one of the two pieces and work it until you are confident that there are virtually no air bubbles left in it.  Form it into a ball, then flatten this out until it is around 1/2" thick

12. Take a 9" cake pan or the equivalent (I actually use a large coffee can with holes poked in the bottom) and press it into the dough, like a cookie cutter.  This will give you a perfectly round loaf with little effort. Trim away the excess, and set this with the remaining portion aside.

13. Flour your pizza stone, baking sheet or baking pan, then lay the main loaf body on it.

14. Using a conventional teaspoon or your fingers, take some water (about 1/2 tsp.) and pour it on the surface of the dough, rubbing it around with the bottom of the spoon. This dampens the top of the dough, making it sticky and allowing the seal portion to adhere without a bubble. Do not allow the water to run off the top, otherwise it will cause the loaf to glue itself to the baking surface! Very bad!

15. Now, roll out the remaining portion of the dough with extra flour, making it slightly thinner than the previous piece. Follow the same process as above.  Make sure there is a fresh dusting of flour under this portion.

16. Using a dish of water, dampen your fingers and wet the top of the bottom portion, then moistening the bottom of the top portion.  Make sure the water does not run off the loaf, because moisture under the loaf will make it stick like mad.  Carefully lay the top on the bottom, make sure there aren't any air bubbles trapped between the layers: the easiest way is to apply the top like a sticker, starting on one edge and moving across the top of the loaf like a Band-aid.

17. Flour the seal and mash it into the loaf as hard as you can.

18. Now, here's where you'll need a tool: in my case, I use a Korean chopstick. This stick tapers gently down to a sharp point from the top to the bottom. When it pierces, it starts with a small hole and opens it, verses a blunt stick which will pull a good portion of the surface down with it and traumatize the seal.

19. Pierce the ends of the cross of the Lamb section, then once in the middle. You can then make decorative piercing along the perimeter of the loaf (I have seen some very elaborate ones).

20. Allow the loaf to sit out for 20 minutes and "proof." This is discussed in greater detail elsewhere .

21. Pop it into the oven. Set your timer for 15 minutes. When it goes off, form another loaf. By the time you're done, it will be ready to turn the loaf in the oven around to achieve even browning (if your oven is ancient like mine!). Set the timer for another 20 minutes, allowing for the proofing time for the second loaf and the finish of the first.

22. Repeat this until there's no more dough

Bread Machine Prosphora

(Byzantine Style)

Note: This recipe was kindly submitted by Michelle Dresdow and Denise Anderson, to whom I owe an apology for not posting sooner. They noted that this recipe will vary from machine to machine and ingredients may need adjusting.

This recipe makes one Byzantine style loaf.

Ingredients

• Bread machine unbleached flour - 3 1/2 cups

• Hot (~100 degrees) water - 1 1/8 cups

• Dry Yeast - 1 tsp.

• Salt - 1 tsp.

• Nothing else! I'll comment later on why.

Instructions

1. Set bread machine on dough cycle.

2. Take out dough and shape loaf. Put shaped dough in round, floured cake pan.

3. Lightly flour prosphora seal and top of dough. Press seal firmly into dough.

4. Let dough double in size.

5. Take a toothpick and prick around the seal. Carefully remove seal.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

7. Remove bread and wrap in clean cloth or towel until cooled so crust will soften.

Serbian Recipe

In preparing the Prosphora, one first begins with prayer:

O Lord Jesus Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, who has said: Without me you can do nothing! O Lord, My God, with faith I accept your words. Help me, a sinner, to prepare the bread of offering, that the works of my hands may be acceptable at the Holy Table and may become through the works of Thy Holy Spirit, the communion of '`Thy Most Pure Body for me and all Thy people." In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Next, the following ingredients are placed in a large bowl or pan that has been warmed with warm water:

1. pkg. yeast.

2. 3/4 cup of warm water (105 - 115 F)

3. a dash of salt

4. 3 1/2 cups of flour (approx.)

Directions: dissolve the yeast in water, add salt and enough flour to make a manageable but not sticky dough (the degree of humidity will determine whether more or less flour is needed). Knead until smooth and elastic‹about twenty minutes by hand or seven to ten minutes with a dough hook. If using a dough hook knead one half of the dough at a time. This amount will make one medium-sized two-tiered loaf.

To shape into a loaf, roll out the top portion smaller than the bottom portion. The top portion should be just large enough to set the seal upon it (see diagram, p. 131). Press the seal firmly into the top portion. Brush the top surface of the bottom loaf lightly with water to make sure that the top portion adheres to the bottom, then place the top layer on the bottom one. Cover the loaf with a cloth and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size (one to one and a half hours). Then, bake the loaf about twenty to thirty minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember, the preparation of the prosphora is not just the making of another bread, but an offering to the Church which will become the Precious Body of our Lord; therefore it should not be made as part of bread prepared for regular use. Finally, conclude your work with a short prayer of thanksgiving of your own.

A Recipe for Prosphora (OFL)

(1 large loaf or 5 small loaves)

Ingredients:

|[p|3 1/2 cups high-gluten flour, sifted ("All Purpose" flour is modestly high in gluten.) |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|1 teaspoon of dry yeast |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|a dash of salt |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|1 cup luke warm water |

|ic| |

|] | |

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Form a well in the flour.

3. Add the dissolved yeast to the flour mixture.

4. Mix well, adding a bit more flour if the dough is sticky, up to 1 cup.

5. Sprinkle a little flour on a board or table/counter top and begin kneading the dough until it become smooth and stiff.

6. Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise one-half hour in a warm place.

7. Form the dough into a ball, flatten with the palm of your hand, and roll it gently with a rolling pin.

8. Place it in 9" floured baking pan.

9. Dip the prosphora seal in flour, and then tap off the excess.

10. Firmly press the seal in the center of the dough. Keep the pressure on the seal for as long as it takes to pray the Lord's Prayer, then remove the seal very carefully.

11. Cover the pan with a clean lint-free towel and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour until the bread doubles in size.

12. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

13. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.

14. Remove the bread from the pan and set it on a cooling rack.

15. Allow the prosphora to cool completely before wrapping in plastic or aluminum foil for transport to Church.

To make small prosphora, replace the above steps 7 through 10 with:

|[p|Roll out the dough to a level 3/4-inch thickness on a well-floured board, and cut out five rounds with a 3-inch biscuit |

|ic|cutter or the drinking end of glass. Transfer rounds to a floured cookie sheet. |

|] | |

|[p|Re-roll the remaining dough to a level 1/2-inch thickness and cut out five 2 1/2-inch rounds with a cutter/glass. Press the |

|ic|prosphora seal onto the top of each small round and remove carefully. |

|] | |

|[p|Dampen the tops of the 3-inch rounds with water, and prick several times with a straight pin; use a spatula to place one of |

|ic|the smaller rounds, centered, on top each of the larger rounds; press lightly to "seal" the rounds together.  |

|] | |

Russian Prosphora Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 9 cups unbleached flour (Pillsbury's `Bread Flour' is good; `natural' flour, maybe from a health food store, is best; it's desirable to use flour which has not been artificially enhanced by adding anything (protein) or subtracting anything (by bleaching).

1 tablespoon (or one small packet) active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups boiling water

Additional flour during kneading, and/or white corn meal for the baking sheets

DIRECTIONS: MAKE SURE THAT ALL UTENSILS, WORK SURFACES AND YOUR HANDS (SCRUB UNDER YOUR NAILS! WASH WITH UNSCENTED SOAP!) ARE SCRUPULOUSLY CLEAN; THAT YOUR HAIR/BEARD WILL NOT CONTAMINATE THE DOUGH; THAT NO HOUSEHOLD PETS ARE IN THE KITCHEN; THAT THE WINDOWS AND DOORS ARE CLOSED AGAINST DRAFTS AND DUST. If your hands begin to feel dry while working with the dough, resist the urge to apply lotion -- it will contaminate the dough with undesirable oils and odors.

Cross yourself and make the Sign of the Cross over your ingredients, remembering that we will offer this bread and ask that God's Holy Spirit change it and us, and make this bread the `precious Body of (His) Christ'.

1. Boil the water (preferably pure spring water from a bottle) in a clean pot or kettle. Turn off the heat and let the water stand while you quickly do steps 2 - 4. Don't measure the water before boiling, just boil more than three cups to allow for evaporation.

2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. If the label says `pre-sifted', sift it anyway.

3. Measure nine cups (3x3) sifted flour into the bread bowl (`cup' means the whole vessel; you don't have to make it exactly even with the line.)

4. Add the yeast and salt, and stir to distribute them evenly throughout the dry flour. Pile the dry mixture in the center of the bread bowl.

5. Measure three cups of the boiled water into the dry mixture, adding it around the flour -- don't pour it directly on top of it.

6. Stir the mixture until it begins to hold together; sprinkle some of the reserved flour on the work surface and scrape all the dough out of the bowl onto it.

7. Knead the dough thoroughly for as long as it takes to get it to be of even texture, elastic but fairly dry. Sprinkle some flour into the bread bowl, place the dough into it, and cover with a cloth. Set the bowl in a warm spot to rise for an hour or so. Someplace near, but not on, the stove is best.

8. Light the oven and set it for 325.

9. WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN; knead the dough again until it is about the same size as it was before you let it rise.

10. Sprinkle the baking sheets with a generous coating of flour or white cornmeal. DO NOT USE OIL OF ANY KIND TO GREASE THE BAKING SHEETS.

11a. BYZANTINE (large) prosphora: 1. Divide the dough into two equal parts. 2. Cut off 1/4 of each part, and reserve. 3. Shape each of the two large pieces into a ball; roll them out until they are round and flat, about 1 1/2 inches thick. 4. Place the loaves on the baking sheets. 5. Roll out the two small pieces into circles a couple of inches smaller in diameter than the loaves, but larger than the seal. 6. Flour the circles on both sides. Impress the seal firmly and remove it at once. 7. Moisten the tops of the loaves thoroughly with water left over from what was boiled earlier, rubbing in with your fingertips. 8. Place the sealed circles on each loaf. Pat them firmly in place with your fingertips, but not so hard as to obliterate the seal. Cover the prosphora with a cloth and set them aside to rise for another 30 minutes. 9. Using the skewer, pierce each prosphoron in the center and at the corners of each of its five square sections, as well as around the edge of the circle. 10. Place one prosphoron on the oven's upper rack, and the other on the lower. 11. Reduce the temperature to 300. Bake for 30 minutes. 12. Remove the prosphora and rotate them: back to front, top to bottom; bake for another 45 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on top and sound hollow when you tap them. If there's any doubt in your mind that they're done, leave them in for another ten minutes or so. It's better to have them slightly over baked than raw inside. 13. Brush off as much flour/white corn meal as you can from the bottom of each prosphoron. Place them on cooling racks. 14. Cover the prosphora with a dry cloth, and a damp cloth over the dry cloth. Place the cloth-covered prosphora on their racks into the large plastic bag. (This allows the prosphora to cool as they absorb moisture from the damp cloth, making them less crumbly.) 15. When the prosphora are completely cooled, brush them again to remove any remaining flour/white corn meal from their bottoms, and put them in sealed bags. Ideally, the prosphora should be baked on the morning of the day before the Liturgy. If necessary, they can be baked in advance and frozen in airtight bags until needed; even then, they should be taken out to thaw at least 24 hours in advance of the Liturgy: microwave thawing does undesirable things to bread.

11b. RUSSIAN (small) prosphora (also used for commemorations): 1. Divide the dough into two equal parts. 2. Roll out each part until it is about 1" thick. 3. With a 3" cookie cutter, cut twelve circles from each part and place them on the baking sheets, leaving as much space as possible between them. 4. Roll out the dough remaining from the cutting of the 24 circles until it's 1" thick. 5. With a 2" cookie cutter, cut 24 circles; flour them on both sides and seal them with the small seal. 7. Follow steps 7 -15 as in 11a; baking time will be shorter, since the loaves are smaller. Pack these up in groups of five, making sure that there is at least one of good size and shape with a clear seal in each bag.

This same recipe may be used for artoklasia; some people add a little rose water or citrus, or even dried fruit to it in that case.

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