And yes, Christmas, is
“the most wonderful time of the year”!
The warm scents of cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla, the Christmas three and plenty of ornaments, candles and lights all add up to that special festive spirit!
In Greece, the traditional Christmas sweets like “kourampiedes (see recipe here)”, “melomakarona (see recipe here)” and maybe “baklava (see recipe here)” are a must for almost all the days that the Christmas tree is present!
Especially on Christmas day we may also bake a special bread, “christopsomo” for the festive meal.
Tradition has it that this bread must bear a cross made of dough in the middle and whole unpeeled walnuts on top declaring abundance and must only be cut by hand without using a knife which is believed to “injure” the bread.
It is quick, easy, very “Christmassy” and deserves a place on the table on that special day!
Tip: Check off the ingredients you have used in the recipe or note the ingredients you have and add the rest to you shopping list to buy them. - Attention: All ingredients must be checked that are Gluten-Free and without traces of gluten.
Abbreviations: g=grams • kg= kilograms • cup=250 ml • tsp= teaspoon=5 ml • tbsp= tablespoon=3 tsp=15 ml • ml= millilitre= (1ml=0.034 fl oz / 1fl oz=29.6 ml) • l=litre/liter=1000ml
Boil the water with the aniseed for 5 minutes and leave it aside to cool, while we are waiting for the yeast to activate.
Sift the flour into a bowl, make a small pit in the middle and add the yeast, sugar and 2 tbsp. lukewarm water. Wait about 30 minutes until the yeast activates and rises
As soon as the yeast is ready and the water that we boiled in the aniseed, has cooled, we make the dough by adding to the bowl with the sifted the active yeast, the olive oil , the salt and 300ml drained water that we boiled, the aniseed.
Knead our dough very well.
Once our dough is ready, add the walnuts and knead so that the walnuts go everywhere.
From this dough, we divide it and keep aside about ¼ to make the designs. The rest dough we placed in an about Ø 20cm/8” diameter pan after having first lined it with a greaseproof/baking paper.
On a floured surface, make 4 cords with the dough we kept aside.
With these cords, we decorate our bun by making designs and place the whole unpeeled walnuts and cloves on top.
Cover and set aside to rise again for about 45 minutes. For greater convenience and in order not to spoil our design, I place the pan in a shell-type pan and cover it with the lid. If my kitchen is not warm enough, I place it in the oven at 50°C/120°F.
As soon as our bun has risen, lightly beat the egg yolk and brush it over its entire surface.
Bake it open, without the lid, in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F for about 50 minutes, adding a tray/pan with water at the base of the oven.
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the water with the aniseed for 5 minutes and leave it aside to cool, while we are waiting for the yeast to activate.
Sift the flour into a bowl, make a small pit in the middle and add the yeast, sugar and 2 tbsp. lukewarm water. Wait about 30 minutes until the yeast activates and rises
As soon as the yeast is ready and the water that we boiled in the aniseed, has cooled, we make the dough by adding to the bowl with the sifted the active yeast, the olive oil , the salt and 300ml drained water that we boiled, the aniseed.
Knead our dough very well.
Once our dough is ready, add the walnuts and knead so that the walnuts go everywhere.
From this dough, we divide it and keep aside about ¼ to make the designs. The rest dough we placed in an about Ø 20cm/8” diameter pan after having first lined it with a greaseproof/baking paper.
On a floured surface, make 4 cords with the dough we kept aside.
With these cords, we decorate our bun by making designs and place the whole unpeeled walnuts and cloves on top.
Cover and set aside to rise again for about 45 minutes. For greater convenience and in order not to spoil our design, I place the pan in a shell-type pan and cover it with the lid. If my kitchen is not warm enough, I place it in the oven at 50°C/120°F.
As soon as our bun has risen, lightly beat the egg yolk and brush it over its entire surface.
Bake it open, without the lid, in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F for about 50 minutes, adding a tray/pan with water at the base of the oven.
- You can only use flour mix for bread such as the Schär’s Mix B – Mix Pane flour if you want, but I suggest you combine it with a corn-based flour mixture such as the Schär’s Mix it Farina flour because it will have a crispier crust.
- If you don’t like anise, omit it or replace it with cloves, cinnamon and tangerine peel.
- Pay attention to the water in which we boiled the anise, that it has become warm enough when it will be added to the dough so that the yeast does burned and damaged. But if it has cooled down too much, reheat it a little so that it is lukewarm.
- You can knead the dough in a food processor if you want. I personally like kneading. This is how “we add our love to what we cook/bake”, according the old housewives used to say.
Good Luck and Bon Appétit!!!
Did you make this recipe;
I don’t want to miss any of your creations!
Take a photo & upload it to Instagram tagging me @vivoglutenfreecom so I can also be proud for you.
What a better way to make easier your days, by keeping all recipes you like, organised. SHOP NOW
32