The last time I was in Cyprus was 2010. I at many family dinners with cousins who have children. On my father’s side of the family, one of my nephews taught me about the importance of bread. We were all finished with our meal. He took some bread, spread Greek yogurt on it, smile and ate. I commented in wonder at the dessert he chose. He was so happy!
The other night, I was out with a group of friends. We shared onion rings as an appetizer, and the waiter brought us a basket of bread. We carefully chose a piece, indulging in more carbs with our food arriving soon after. We had more than enough food to feel full. At the end of the dinner, tow of the ladies took pices of bread that were left munching on it like dessert. I commented again in wonder that bread is so good, even to eat it throughout the meal and at the end. They remarked how delicious bread is, and I smiled nodding in agreement.
In my late father’s book, he remarks how he would come home from dinner with friends, eating my mother’s homemade bread. My mother would in turn admonish my late father to eat more at dinner, so he wouldn’t need more food when he got home. Thinking on this within context of bread just being good, I wonder how my late father appreciated bread like the rest of us for his dessert.
During every Greek meal, there is bread on the table. Pieces are cut by hand, and spread throughout the table so everyone has immediate access when the meal begins. In Cyprus, there are many local bakeries where hearty bread is baked daily.
I was raised in Knoxville, TN to immigrant parents from Cyprus. We did not have bakeries to make this bread, and back in the 70’s, Wonder Bread would just not please my dad. My mother would bake homemade bread, kneading it by hadn. The aroma of freshly baked bread is a wonderful childhood memory. She worked a full time job, cleaned the house, made homemade meals nightly, packed lunch for school daily, baking the bread weekly. I cannot remember a meal without bread. At times, we would begin a meal only to hear someone say, get some bread. Usually mom would get up, slice a few pieces and bring our staple to the table in a pewter plate that stated, ‘Give us our daily bread.’ This was Scripture interpreted literally to mean feasting on bread daily, with Jesus as our daily bread. The Greeks take their bread seriously.
I was home from Florida visiting my mother when I was in my 30’s. I lived in South Florida for about 10 years. She was experiencing a sudden illness that had lasted for 4 months. Doctors ran multiple tests finding nothing wrong with her. I flew up to possibly see her for the last time. There was no diagnosis, therefore no cure to be administered. A family friend who is an immunologist saw my mom, recommending a sample of her blood be tested for neurotoxins. A lab in Texas tested it, finding high levels of DDT in her blood. When my parents grew up in Cyprus, this substance was sprayed as a pesticide on plants. The DDT had been so accumulated in my mother’s system, entering her blood midlife. This was treated by the doctors with an over the counter substance that helped reduce the levels of this pesticide in her system. She quickly recovered. During these moths, my mother could not walk, do chores, word or make bread. My brother and I were adults, who lived in other states.
As I spent time with my parents, my dad got out the large pale green tupperware to mix and knead the bread. Mother gave instructions from the couch, and he followed listening to every detail. His bread came out as good as hers. I was amazed to see him making the bread. Neither store bought, or bread machine baked is the same. Organic ingredients of yeast, salt and flour with muscle power kneading it, and heat is what makes a great loaf.
When our house was cold int he winter months, my mother would place the dough under the bedspread for warmth. This was before my parents invested in insulation for the house with new windows, replacing the original aluminum framed ones from the 60’s. Our heat came from electric ceiling heat that was very expensive. We spent hot summers watching tv in one room of the house, usually my bedroom, where there was a window AC unit. Finally, int eh 80’s my parents invested ina. heat pump and the temperature of the home was regulated with the bread rising in the pale green tupperware in the kitchen.
I realize in 2020 when the world was disrupted with a pandemic, many people began making bread at home. With publications such as Substack and YouTube, I began watching and reading tutorials. I’ve been making amazing sourdough bread since and want to share my lazy recipe. Now, when it snows outside, I bake to warm up my house. My biggest fan is my mother, who often takes half a loaf to her friend. During our most recent snowstorm, I was nurturing the starter every few days baking loaves, as the city was shut down for over a week. I could get out of my driveway, however not much was open. Even on the 8th day since the snowstorm, I ventured out to the grocery store and it felt like a ghost town. I could hear the echo throughout the building.
ALEXIA’s Lazy Sourdough Recipe
Go to your local baker and ask for some starter. Take a small jar for them to fill it up.
Take a tablespoon and add to a pint jar. Your goal is one cup of starter, so you add 5-6 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour with equal parts lukewarm water. To replenish my original starter, I add a tablespoon of this new mix in the pint jar to my original starter. I let both rise. Then I interchange a tablespoon from each again letting each jar rise. You have a replenished starter to keep in the fridge until you need it again to make the next loaf. This is day one. Take the pint jar and add one tablespoon of the flour with equal part lukewarm water. This rises into day 2. Go to sleep with the original starter in the fridge and the 1 cup pint jar on the counter. Loose lids on each while at room temperature.
Day 2: Midday you will mix the dough. My recipe is 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 1 cup starter, 1 cup lukewarm water and salt. I mix and let it sit for a few hours before I stretch. No kneading, just stretch. Add flour to help with stickiness. Then I let it rise some more and pull and stretch. I put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning I pull and stretch again letting it rise, score, dust with semolina, and then bake at 475 for 25 minutes. As I put the loaf in the Pyrex in the oven, I pour water on a metal pan that has been heating in the oven and steam forms. Close the door quickly.
Scoring is just blunting the top of the loaf with a sharp object.
I began with this tutorial and modified with my own lazy process above. He shares the baking in Pyrex option instead of Dutch oven.
I killed my first starter and Paul Hollywood set me free with his tips on starting a new one. He gives the best tutorials if you have to begin a new starter. And he is a legend with bread. If you watch different tutorials you will see there are no rules. *People made bread with fermenting before we had yeast and it was a native natural process that was in fact intuitive.*
Paul Hollywood starter:
Paul Hollywood sourdough bread recipe
I would follow Paul’s recipes and techniques over mine. I shared mine to show how adapting can still get a decent loaf. And I don’t have a scale to measure, or Dutch oven.
Here is the show from Julia on creating steam and the frustrations; “Julia” Season 1 Episode 6. The episode captures the struggle and happiness with finally getting it. There’s a therapeutic element to making sourdough bread. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15193214/
Remember BREAD is essential to life!