The bread every Cypriot grew up with. The aromatic, crunchy and tender anise-seed bread, baked by our grandmothers and their mothers before them. This is a phenomenal bread full of aromas, with a crunchy crumb and a soft centre.
Traditionally this is a bread made with a sourdough starter. Nowadays, as it is not possible for all households to have a ready-to use sourdough starter, active dry yeast will do the trick. I learned this method of proofing by the baking Queen, the one and only Rose Levy Beranbaum. In her book “the bread bible”, in order to achieve maximum flavour, she makes a liquid starter with the yeast before adding the flour mixture. I follow this method for almost all my breads and it is foolproof. The bread comes out perfect every time.
As I mentioned this is an aromatic bread. The Turkish-Cypriot community adds cinnamon and sometimes cloves to the dough, while the Greek-Cypriots add mastic seeds and cumin. However you make it, your kitchen will be filled with magical aromas and the bread will taste amazing. I like to eat it with olives, dipped in olive oil, crushed coriander and like everything Cypriot, well, lemon!
Anise-seed Cypriot Village Bread
Ingredients
For the starter mix:
- 160 grams strong (bread) flour
- 80 grams wholemeal flour
- 1/2 tsp dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 415 grams water at room temperature
For the dough:
- 320 grams strong (bread) flour
- 40 grams wholemeal flour
- 1 tsp dry yeast
- 1 tsp mahleb seeds crushed
- 1/2 tsp mastic seeds (optional) crushed
- 1 tsp aniseeds
- ½ Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil to coat the proofing bowl
For coating:
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients for the starter mixture in a deep bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the mixture with a wire until it becomes a thick-ish batter. Set aside.
- In another deep bowl, mix well all the dry ingredients for the dough (not the olive oil). Important: Do not let the salt come into direct contact with the yeast because it will lose its properties. Just add the yeast first, mix and then add the salt.
- Combine the two mixtures: With the help of a spoon, spread the dry flour mixture over the surface of the starter mixture. Add spoonfuls, without stirring, until the entire surface of the starter is covered.
- DO NOT MIX the two mixtures. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it on the kitchen counter for 2-4 hours. The starter will rise through the dry ingredients and at places, may penetrate through.
- To make the dough, combine the two mixtures together. You can use a stand mixer (best option) with the dough hook. Knead very well, for at least 10 minutes until it becomes an elastic dough. If you don't have a mixer, combine the ingredients with a wooden spoon and then knead by hand. The finished dough will be soft and slightly wet.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the oiled proofing bowl. Turn it upside down and around until the olive oil covers the entire surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for one to two hours, until it doubles in volume. At this stage you can put the dough in the fridge and make the bread the next day. That would make the bread even tastier. In this case, thaw it for 1 hour before proceeding to the next stage.
- Preheat the oven to 240° degrees at least one hour before baking the bread. Shape the dough (it will deflate but will rise again later) into an oblong or round shape. Mix the coating ingredients into a small bowl and spread all-over the bread. With a large knife or a dough scraper, cut the bread all the way through at 5-6 cm intervals. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let it rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it becomes 1 ½ times its size.
- Bake at 240° C for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200°C and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
- Resist cutting a piece while it's too hot since the bread will continue to cook while it cools. Let it rest first for about 1 hour. Enjoy!,
