Prosphora
Ingredients:
200gr. starter, 245g. warm water (105*F), 450g. flour, 10g. salt
Preparation:
1. Mixing:
Mix starter and warm water together to make a milky looking liquid. Add flour and salt. Mix all ingredients together into a ball. Dough will come together and not stick to the bowl or your hands. If it’s sticking add 3 grams of flour at a time and mix completely until it no longer sticks. Once it no longer sticks take it out and knead for 10 minutes until you can take a small portion of dough, stretch it and it is translucent but does not break. (Look up “windowpane test”).
2. Proofing:
Let the bread rise in a warm spot until doubled in size (time will vary based on yeast’s activity. Usually 1-2 hours). Once doubled take it out and knead again for 10 minutes.
Let rise second time until it doubles in size.
3. Baking:
While doing this, preheat the oven to 350*F. Take dough and roll out with rolling pin to slightly bigger than the size of the Gifted pan©. Put dough in pan and push down evenly to make uniform seal. If needed take toothpick and poke holes in the dough to get rid of excess air bubbles.
Once oven reaches 350*F, and dough has relaxed in the pan, place in oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
HINTS:
- If you don’t feel like the dough does not rise enough, you can put a pan with water in the oven while it preheats to create steam to help the bread rise. Watch out for the steam escaping when you place the pan in the oven!
- You can make cuts in the top of the dough, so that the prosphora can expand while cooking
- If making extra batches, make sure pan has cooled completely prior to putting next loaf into pan!
4. Storing:
Once it is done cooking, remove prosphora from pan by gently flipping over cooling rack, so seal is now facing upwards.
Let cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap, and seal it in Ziploc bag.
Write baking date on Ziploc.
Freeze it until bringing it to church.