Greek Christmas Bread: Christopsomo

In this blog post, we will have a thorough look at the Greek Christmas bread Christopsomo or Christ’s Bread. It is a holy custom in many Greek Orthodox families, and the care with which it is produced is thought to assure the home’s well-being in the next year. Only the purest and most pricey substances are utilized.

What does it mean to make this Greek Christmas bread?

Making this Greek Christmas bread is considered a sacrifice to Christ. This donation is made with great attention and affection. We believe it will improve our family’s well-being, health, and happiness. Bread is traditionally made by the woman of the home. She incorporates delicious items like walnuts and raisins into the dough. She adds sugar or honey to the bread to make it tastier.

She utilizes the majority of the dough after preparing it to create the Christmas bread. She uses what’s left to create smaller loaves for her Vaftistiria, or Godchildren. When they wait for her to deliver Christmas gifts, they are primarily concerned about the miniature Christopsomo. They’re called Koutsounes on Poros, although I’m not sure what that means.

Christopsomo Greek Christmas Bread recipe

Don’t be put off by the prospect of preparing bread using yeast. It’s simple to combine the ingredients and knead them together, whether by hand or with a stand mixer, and it only takes around 15 minutes. The majority of your time will be spent waiting for the dough to rise, but this provides you plenty of opportunity to multitask while you wait. This can’t be missing from your Christmas Eve dinner table!

Greek Christmas bread is traditionally cooked in a round loaf and topped with a braided cross and almonds. Years ago, each household painted its bread to suit its occupation. Whatever is on top is cooked to a golden hue that looks lovely on any table. In fact, it freezes wonderfully, so bake an extra loaf while you’re at it!

Ingredients

• 280 ml of water at room temperature
• 7 grams of dry yeast
• 60 grams of granulated sugar
• 50 ml olive oil
• 1/2 kg of bread flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 100 grams walnuts (chopped)
• 100 grams raisins
• 1 egg (beaten)

For the decor

• A few cloves
• 1 walnut, in its shell
• Some shelled walnuts
• Some of the dough from the decorations
• Sesame seeds
• Some almonds

Execution

1. Mix the yeast with the warm water and half of the sugar, stir until dissolved and set it aside until it bubbles.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves with the flour. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix until a soft dough forms, cover with waxed paper and a damp towel, and set aside to rise for 15 minutes. Save the remaining flour!
3. Punch the dough down and knead for several minutes. Add the raisins and the walnuts and knead well to a homogenous dough!
4. Cover, and allow it to rise for 1/2 hour. Take a part of the dough and set it aside.
5. Create a nice, soft ball from the dough, with your hands, and shape the bread as I have in the pictures. Cover a baking pan with ovenproof paper, put the dough on it, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest while you are creating the decorations.
6. Roll the saved dough into strips and create the cross. Brush the top of your bread with a beaten egg and set the cross on top. Decorate it with walnuts and cloves or anything you like. Brush again with the rest of the egg.
7. Bake in a hot oven at 200 °C for 25 to 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 170 °C, and bake it for another 10 minutes.

Some tips for your Christopsomo Greek Christmas Bread!

• Crush the anise seed using a mortar and pestle.
• Pull a pinch of dough from each loaf to decorate your Christmas bread at step 6. Pat the dough back into form to allow it to rise. When the dough has risen, cut it into strips and wrap it around whole walnuts pushed into the top in the form of a cross, or cut it into shapes of your choosing and set them on top of the loaves. Carry on with the recipe. To produce a brighter gloss, brush with beaten egg instead of milk.

Merry Christmas and Bon appétit!