Greek Bread (Horiatiko Psomi)

 

Ingredients

Bread

• 2 ½ tsp Active Dry Yeast

• 1 ½ cups Water (Tepid/Lukewarm)

• 1 tbsp Honey

• 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (plus extra for flouring)

• ½ cup Finely ground Semolina flour

• 2 tsp Salt

• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Add-ins (Optional)

• ½ cup Firm Feta cheese (cut into ¼-inch cubes, kept cold)

• ¼ cup Kalamata olives (pitted, chopped, and blotted completely dry)

• ¼ cup Sun-dried tomatoes (drained, chopped, and blotted completely dry)

Topping/Garnish

• 1 pinch Flaky sea salt

• 1 tsp Dried oregano

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast, tepid water, and honey. 

2. Add the all-purpose flour, semolina, salt, and olive oil to the yeast mixture. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir until a sticky, shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains (thicker than cake batter but not a solid ball of dough).

3. Cover the bowl tightly. Place in a warm, draft-free spot and let rise for 3 hours, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size and looks bubbly.

4. Generously flour a work surface and scrape the dough onto it. IF NOT USING ADD-INS: Gently pull the dough into a rough loaf shape. IF USING ADD-INS: Gently pull the dough into a rectangle shape. Sprinkle 3/4 of the dry olives, tomatoes, and cold feta over the surface. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter (bottom to middle, top down). Flatten slightly, add the remaining mix-ins, and fold once more into a round ball. Place the shaped loaf onto a large sheet of parchment paper.

5. Preheat the dutch oven to be about 430°F. For a 12-inch oven, you need 9-10 briquettes on the bottom and 18-19 briquettes on the lid. Preheat the empty dutch oven (with lid on) for 15–20 minutes.

6. Using the parchment paper as a sling, carefully drop the dough into the hot Dutch oven. Sprinkle the dough with flaky salt and oregano. Replace the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, rotate the pot to prevent hot spots.

7. After 30 minutes, remove the lid. If the bottom coals look weak/ashy, replace them with 5–8 fresh, glowing briquettes. Continue baking with the lid off for 10–15 minutes until the crust is a deep mahogany brown and the internal temperature reaches 200°F–210°F.

8. Lift the bread out and move it to a cooling rack immediately. Let it rest for at least 30–60 minutes before slicing to allow the internal crumb to set.