Easter bread / Christopsomo

A traditional Greek bread served on Easter Sunday and on Christmas day.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water lukewarm
• 1 sachet of dry yeast 9gr.
• 1 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 kg of hard flour for bread + 4 - 5 tsp. of soup, for the work surface and the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of anise powder
• 1/3 fl. olive oil + a little, for the basin and the pan
• For the garnish
• 1 whole walnut
• a few white almonds
• a few raisins
• a few cloves
• Sesame
• For the top to brush on
• 1 tsp. spoonful of honey
• 2 tsp. soup hot water

Directions

1. To make the Christopsomo, first put warm water in a bowl.
2. Dissolve the yeast, and sugar in it, mixing well.
3. Sift the flour into the bucket.
4. Add the salt, anise, mace and olive oil.
5. We start kneading with the hook, adding little by little the water with the dissolved ingredients. If the dough comes out too tight, add another half cup of warm water. We continue kneading for about 5 more minutes.
6. Sprinkle the work surface with flour and rest on this dough. Knead with your hands until it comes off completely.
7. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough there.
8. Cover with cling film and leave the bowl in a warm place for about 2 hours, until the dough doubles in volume.
9. Grease and flour a large, round pan well.
10. Place the puffed dough on the floured work surface and remove a piece of it for the decoration.
11. We re-knead it slightly with our hands, form it into a loaf and put it in the pan.
12. Let the dough rise again for about 30 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
14. Spread and garnish
15. We start by mixing the honey with the hot water.
16. We shape with the piece of dough that we have kept ornaments of our liking, such as crosses, little people, flowers, animals, thin strips, etc.
17. Place the decorations on the loaf.
18. Brush the entire surface with the honey water, slightly pressing the dough decorations so that they stick.
19. We wedge the walnut in the center of the bread.
20. Garnish with some almonds and raisins.
21. We wedge a few cloves and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
22. Bake the Christopsomo in the oven for 45-50 minutes. After about 35 minutes of baking, open the oven and brush the loaf again with honey water.
23. We continue baking, until it gets a nice color.