| Cake-Materials: | |
| A special (and only for this job) basin, plastic or stainless steel or wooden | |
| A smaller but deeper bowl, for catching the leaven. | |
| A good wooden (not plastic) seal, with deep carving, having the | |
| 2 kg of sifted, good quality, hard, preferably yellow or soft flour, mixed with ½ the quantity of fine semolina. | |
| Wet while it lasts.'incAlways'>Water as long as it takes. | |
| Salt it while it lasts.ways'>Salt as much as it takes. | |
| One (and only for this job) sealed container for storing the special yeast (yeast is forbidden), for the next fermentations. | |
| Especially (and only for this job, preferably shallow) aluminum or stainless steel pans, depending on the quantity you want. For better safety, when there is no experience, they can be made in a separate proportional deep pan-form, which can hold one buffet each, in the desired size | |
| One | |
| A special (and only for this job) flat brush of good quality, not to | |
| Similar cloths - | |
| A large woolen blanket, proportional to the quantity and the number of dishes, for | |
| A clean linen towel case for carrying the prosphorus to the temple. | |
| Special space (cupboard-drawer) for the clean storage of all these utensils, without using them for any other purpose, until the next kneading. | |
| Special nylon bags for food, as many as the trays, for storing the trays in the freezer or refrigerator. | |
| Special sharp knife for cutting the dough. | |
| A preferably wooden or metal spoon for mixing the sourdough. | |
| Special flat clean table- | |
| A special (and only for this job) saucepan, for heating the water. | |
| Some strong clean toothpicks or 1-2 stems of oregano, for piercing the offerings before baking. |
| 1. | |
| 2. | We make sure to have a basil branch from the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, (the one distributed by the priest after the Exaltation ceremony) or from the Sunday of the Pilgrimage of the Cross, which takes place during Lent or in case of need, blessed on the Holy Cross by a priest. |
| 3. | According to tradition, we |
| 4. | In the afternoon, pour some lukewarm water into the basin where you |
| 5. | In this water we dip the basil branch (green or dry), crosswise three times, chanting the troparion at the same time: |
| 6. | Remove the basil, being careful not to leave any parts of it in the water at the end, and add coarse flour a little at a time, stirring with a spoon or by hand, until it becomes a thick paste. |
| 7. | Pour enough flour over the porridge so that it does not stick to the towel when it rises, but also acts as an insulator, keeping the temperature constant. |
| 8. | Cover the basil very well with a clean towel and put the basil on it, then cover it with the wool blanket and place it in a safe and very warm place. |
| 9. | The next day, very early in the morning, |
| 10. | In the late afternoon-evening we do the same |
| 11. | Until the third |
| 12. | As long as we have |
| 13. | That is, if we create with these three |
| 14. | This is the |
| 15. | Keeping the leaven for the next fermentation: |
| 16. | On the day we knead the dough along with the creation of the dough, we make sure that we separate and keep a small part of the same dough (as much as a medium orange is enough for a lot of dough and this should be done every time we knead), so that we can keep it for the next kneading, whenever it happens. This will be the sourdough. |
| 17. | After leaving it for a few hours, 6 hours is enough, covered so that it can |
| 18. | In the old days, when there were no refrigerators, they were kept in the stored flour on one side. In case they ran out of sourdough, they would borrow it from another believer and return it after kneading it with a new one. |
| 19. | When we are going to knead, early the day before, we take the reserved sourdough out of the fridge-freezer so that it can defrost and effortlessly reach room temperature, i.e. to |
| 20. | When we are going to knead, early the day before, we take the reserved sourdough out of the fridge-freezer so that it can defrost and effortlessly reach room temperature, i.e. to |
| 21. | The night before we are going to knead, we take flour, almost ¼ of the amount we are going to knead, and we |
| 22. | Pour some warm water into the special mixing bowl of the sourdough starter, be careful not to burn it, and dissolve the thawed sourdough in it until it dissolves well and has no lumps. |
| 23. | Make sure that the bowl has enough room for the bubbling, at least twice the amount of the mixture. If, despite hope, we cannot melt the pellets, we drain it in a sieve and throw the pellets in a clean place such as near a tree root or in a pot, so that they are not stepped on and despised. |
| 24. | Then, slowly add ¼ of the flour and mix well, until it becomes a thick paste. Cover the bowl very well with the towel and then with the woolen blanket and place it in a warm place, no higher than 45-50o , overnight. |
| 25. | Kneading of buffalo: |
| 26. | Early in the morning the next day, (about 8 hours after breathing), we check the sourdough to see if it is inflated as it should be, i.e. if it has bubbles and has doubled in volume. |
| 27. | We light the candle and the censer of the house, and make the sign of the cross on our bodies, whispering the Sunday prayer |
| 28. | If we know the Greetings of the Virgin Mary then we say them too or have a child recite them or read the request of the Virgin Mary. With our three fingers together as when we make the sign of the cross, we cross the basin we are going to knead three times and we are ready to begin. |
| 29. | If the sourdough is ready then pour most of the flour left over from the |
| 30. | Make a small well in this flour, so that it can hold the sourdough starter that you have risen and has now risen. Pour the |
| 31. | Be careful, because the water depends on the quality of the flour, some |
| 32. | When it is well kneaded (kneading takes about 40´), cross the dough with three fingers and leave it covered for 10´ in the bowl to |
| 33. | While the dough is resting, we prepare the pans in which we will place the prosphora to bake them. Flour, with very little flour, the entire surface and the sides of the pans evenly, so that the pans do not stick to each other, to the walls or to the base of the pan. |
| 34. | After 10´ cut a piece of dough, about the size of an orange for sourdough, which you will store in the refrigerator for 6 hours, for the next kneading. Re-make the dough, briefly, to |
| 35. | Cut this stick into equal pieces as the number of ramekins you want to make, large or small, and cover them to prevent them from getting cold and drying out. Take one piece and work it in your hands in a circular motion so that the dough is consolidated without wrinkles, lumps or gaps, creating a shiny ball-ball. |
| 36. | Do the same with another and just before they dry, join them together, always with the joints at the bottom, without putting flour between them to make them stick. Place this double ball-ball in the baking pan, press them together lightly with the palm of your hand, so that they open up, stick together, and the surface takes the right shape, (careful not too much, just so that it sits well on the base) and cover. |
| 37. | Make sure that the pastry and the dough are always covered, so that they don't dry out on the surface. Care should be taken to place the dough pieces at a suitable distance from each other, so that they do not come together during sealing and rising. |
| 38. | Repeat the same with the remaining pieces. When you are done make the sign of the Holy Cross on the dough, take the seal and press it on clean flour. Shake it so that no flour is left on it and press it vertically into the center of each ball-ball, pressing lightly so that it fits snugly into the dough. |
| 39. | Hold the seal for 2 seconds and then remove it by lifting it carefully. Be careful not to press more than half the volume of the ball-balls, because then it will not come off and the shape and letters of the stamp will be spoiled. |
| 40. | After sealing all the trays, place the baking pans in a warm place and cover with the |
| 41. | After at least two hours, maybe even earlier, depending on the temperature, the foreshores start to swell. This can be seen by the fact that they tear a little on their lips, the seal has been lifted, the letters lose their strong imprint and then they are ready for baking. |
| 42. | If during the puffing process we find that the surface of the offerings has a hard crust, then spray with a little cold water, evenly. Uncover and with a toothpick or the stem of oregano, pierce each adforo around the seal and outside the main |
| 43. | After piercing, bake in a hot oven at 180o for one hour. Be careful not to burn and darken on top, but only to brown. |
| 44. | In case they brown prematurely, cover them with wax paper or special oven paper. |
| 45. | The prosphora are not baked like bread for long enough, but when browned, lower the temperature to slow bake until the liquid inside is dry. |
| 46. | When you take them out of the oven, wrap them with the |
| 47. | This is necessary to prevent them from drying out and to make a soft crust, so that the priest can extract the |
| 48. | When they are well cooled we store them and they are ready to be offered to the Temple for the benefit of the day and all the ignorant people. |
| 49. | Tip: |
| 50. | The preparation of offerings is a sacred matter and one should perform it with all care, reverence, awe and purity. |
| 51. | It is a purely ecclesiastical service- |
| 52. | The so-called |
| 53. | A great blessing for the manufacturer and his family. |
| 54. | In the Church we take the offering, clean of flour, reverently wrapped in a special clean case or towel, along with a small amount of a special wine called |
| 55. | On Mount Athos they make the so-called |
| 56. | One of them has only the |
| 57. | The large sizes (around 15 points) are used on Sundays and major holidays, while the small scales (around 7 points) are used on weekdays for practical reasons. |
| 58. | When we have a new, unused seal, before the first use we immerse it in olive oil to cover it well for two weeks, putting a weight on it to keep it in the oil. Then we take it off, wipe it well to remove the oils and leave it in a shady, airy place until the excess oils |
| 59. | If the sourdough is too swollen and we don't understand how to proceed with the kneading, there is a risk that it will |
| 60. | With 2 ½ kilos of flour, we usually make about 4 large (2 scales), or 18 small (9 scales), depending on the size you want to give. |
| 61. | Always sift the flour before starting the kneading and kneading process. |
| 62. | The dough should always be made hard, so that there are no large bubbles inside, so that the letters are not erased during the |
| 63. | Excessive moisture during baking and baking in the oven has negative effects, i.e. the seal is lost, they crack on the surface and do not brown. |
| 64. | When the baking process tears deeply, it means that they have not risen sufficiently. |
| 65. | When they warp during baking, it means that they have been pressed down crookedly enough or if you use an air oven, the air circulation is not symmetrical, so avoid baking with strong air as little as possible. |
| 66. | When the baking is finished check if they are dry by tapping the bottom of a baking tray with your finger, if they are dry you will hear a muffled crackling sound and they are light in weight. Otherwise the crackling is heavy and the weight is noticeable. If they need drying, let them bake a little longer, lowering the temperature degrees; when they are ready, remove them from the pans. |
| 67. | If we want to polish the buffalo and not have flour on them, which they should not have, then as soon as we take them out of the oven we brush them with a light, short brushing with cold water, just once, or we brush them with a special clean cloth or sponge on their surface or even whole, to remove the long burn, any excess flour and to give them a nice colour and appearance. |
| 68. | The piercing is done to vent the air that will be trapped inside at the start of the roasting process, so it should not be all the way down to the front. |
| 69. | Instead of |
| 70. | Greasing the pans is not correct, but |
| 71. | Some people lightly |
| 72. | Each offering should be made of two small balls (depending on the size we want), because they symbolize the two natures of Christ. |
| 73. | If this makes it difficult, then we can make the corresponding ball-ball instead of two one mass, well united, and lightly indent its circumference, below the middle of the general height, to separate two parts, and continue the light pressing with the palm and then with the stamp. |
| 74. | If you have a large amount of dough, then seal the prepared balls, from time to time, so that the surface doesn't dry out and make it difficult to seal. |
| 75. | A second seal, over the one already pressed, is strictly forbidden. If we fail with the first one, then the balls are pressed again and only then do we seal. |
| 76. | Be careful not to overhang the dough around the seal when pressing, because then the seal will not come off and will be destroyed. |
| 77. | The pressure should be vertical, so as not to shake the dough left and right. |
| 78. | The oven must be preheated, because if you put the puffs in while it's preheating, they will still rise and the seal will break. |
| 79. | The older ones baked the prosphora without a baking tray, free in the base of the oven. |
| 80. | When you don't use a baking pan and bake them freely on a baking sheet, you have to make sure that they don't stick together. |
| 81. | After baking, their circumference should be beautiful, straight and smooth, with no other dough sticking to them. |
| 82. | When we don't have a warm place to cure the sourdough or yeast, we can use the bain-marie method. We place the basin containing the leaven-yeast in a larger one that has hot water (not hot) and if necessary, because it will probably cool down quickly, we reheat the water and refresh it. This way we get a quick bubbling within 2 hours, depending on the environment, maybe sooner. Another way is to use the oven at a very low temperature below 50o. |