Name: Festive Bread from Kythera (Artos apo ta Kythera)
Yield: Makes 1 large round loaf
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1¼ cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional); Cornmeal; ¼ cup olive oil; ⅓ cup dry red wine; ½ cup honey, preferably thyme honey; 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt; 2 tablespoons grated orange zest; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves; 2½ cups all-purpose flour or 2 cups all-purpose flour plus ½ cup barley flour; 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt; 4–4½ cups all-purpose flour; ½ cup chopped dried Calimyrna figs (optional); ½ teaspoon active dry yeast; ¼ cup warm water

Preparation info

Makes
1
large round loaf

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Foods of the Greek Islands

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 2000

About

THIS IS one of the best breads I have ever eaten. It has a complex aromatic flavor that reminds me of one of my favorite sweets, melomakarona, the honey cookies prepared traditionally at Christmas. It’s ideal for breakfast, spread with butter and honey or marmalade, or eaten as dessert with cheese, and it makes excellent toast and bread puddings. This recipe comes from Eleni Kalligerou, the most accomplished baker on Kythera.

In modern Greek, the word arto