This Rustic Sourdough Horiatiko Psomi Greek Country Village Bread is made with an enriched dough and features a unique golden color due to the inclusion of semolina flour.
The crust is sprinkled with sesame seeds, which when baked, give the loaf a delicious and nutty crunch. My version is leavened with sourdough and includes a bit of white whole wheat flour for a rustic country-style loaf.
To achieve the crunchy crust and moist crumb, the loaf is baked in a Dutch Oven, Bread Cloche, or on a baking stone covered with a stainless-steel bowl.
Elle, of Feeding My Enthusiasms, is the host kitchen for the Bread Baking Babes, and she chose this delicious bread for the bake of the month.
Add whole wheat flour to this Greek Village Bread to create a tasty rustic loaf
Country-style loaves, or at least the ones I’ve made, typically include at least a portion of whole wheat flour.
In this Sourdough Horiatiko Psomi, I used about 17% white whole wheat flour (home-milled from White Sonora wheat), and I must say, I wish I had included more. With all the enrichments in the dough, I could’ve upped the amount of whole grain to 30%.
I did some experimenting last summer with Sourdough Pain de Mie, an enriched sandwich bread, and found that 30% whole grain was the sweet spot (for me) in terms of adding flavor and texture and still maintaining a relatively soft crumb. You can increase or decrease the amount of whole grain used, depending on how fluffy you want the bread.
Next time, I will add more whole wheat flour to this loaf. In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying slices of this loaf plain with butter and as cheese toast.
How I converted this Greek Village Bread to Sourdough
I used 100 grams of 100% hydration sourdough starter in this recipe. To achieve a 100% hydration sourdough starter, feed your starter with a 50/50 mix of flour to water the day or evening before you plan to make this bread.
Let it ferment for 4-6 hours, or longer, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Add the starter to the final dough before you incorporate the milk and melted butter.
After you mix the dough, and allow it to bulk ferment at warm room temperature, shape it into a boule, and place it in a lined banneton (proofing basket) for the final rise.
I let the shaped loaf proof in the basket on the counter for about an hour, then placed it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I baked the loaf directly from the fridge in a preheated bread cloche.
Suggested timing for this Sourdough Horiatiko Psomi
I chose to make this sourdough loaf in three days so I could bake the loaf in time for dinner on the third day. Most of the prep is done on the second day.
Day 1: Feed your sourdough starter
Day 2: Prepare the dough, bulk ferment, overnight cold ferment
Day 3: Bake the loaf and enjoy
This bread is a keeper! I’ve always enjoyed the combination of semolina and sesame seeds in Italian loaves. Now I have a Greek sesame-crusted bread to love.
Adapted from Supergoldenbakes.com Greek Village Bread made with dried yeast.
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Rustic Sourdough Horiatiko Psomi | Greek Country Village Bread
- Yield: 1 Large Loaf 1x
Description
This Rustic Sourdough Horiatiko Psomi Greek Country Village Bread, made with an enriched dough, features a unique golden color due to the inclusion of semolina flour.
Ingredients
- 375 grams (~3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 100 grams (scant 1 cup) white whole wheat flour
- 75 grams (1/2 cup) fine semolina
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 100 grams (1/3 cup) sourdough starter
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) tepid water
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
- 60 grams (1/4 cup/4 Tbsp.) butter
Topping:
- Water for brushing
- 27 grams (3 Tbsp.) sesame seeds
Instructions
Day before you plan to bake: Feed your starter
- Feed your sourdough starter with a 50/50 mix of flour to water. Let it ferment at warm room temperature for 4-6 hours, or longer if needed. Once it’s ready, you can place it in the refrigerator until the next day.
- Remove 100 grams and let it warm up to room temperature before incorporating into the dough. Then feed your sourdough again and store it as you normally do.
Day 2: Mix Dough
- The following instructions are for mixing the dough by hand. The dough is fairly easy to mix by hand; however, feel free to use a stand mixer, if you prefer.
- Place the flours (all-purpose, white whole wheat, semolina), sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Mix in the sourdough until it is thoroughly incorporated throughout the dough. The dough will be sort of mealy at this point.
- Heat the butter and milk. Add the water to the butter/milk mixture and let it cool before using in the dough.
- Pour the butter/milk/water mixture over the dough and mix thorough, using a dough whisk or a wooden spoon. At this point, you will have a shaggy dough.
- Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Wet your fingers and stretch and fold the dough.
Bulk Ferment
- Form the dough into a ball, and place it back in the bowl. Let it rest, loosely covered, with a damp, clean towel or bees wrap, for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the 30-minute rest, and stretch and fold two more times, for a total of three folds, if needed (1 ½ hours). You many only need two folds.
- Cover the bowl and leave it to rise in a warm place for an additional 60-90 minutes, or until doubled. Depending on how warm it is in your kitchen, it may take more or less time.
Shape Loaf
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly dusted work surface.
- Shape the dough into a ball. Then, flatten it out into a rectangular. Fold one end in and then the other end over it like a letter. Flip it over and using your hands, shape it into a ball (boule).
Final Proof
- Carefully place the shaped boule seam side up in a bowl covered with a flour-dusted towel or a lined and flour-dusted banneton. Let it rise for 1-2 hours, then cover or place in a plastic bag, and place in the refrigerator to cold ferment overnight.
- You can bake the loaf after allowing it to ferment for 2-3 hours, but the overnight rest in the fridge improves the texture and flavor and allows you to bake it the next evening for dinner, should you so desire.
Day 3: Bake Day
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for at least half an hour while the loaf is still in the refrigerator. Place a lidded pot (Dutch oven or domed bread baker) in the oven to preheat.
- Carefully invert the bread onto a dough sling or piece of baking parchment. Brush the top with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Use a knife or bread lame to slice the top of the loaf with a cross shape. (I used a curved blade lame to make the slashes, and they formed nice ears on the crust.
- Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Lower the loaf (on the parchment) into the pot, cover, and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Using heavy oven mitts, carefully remove the lid from the hot baking pot, and let the loaf bake, uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, until the crust is beautiful golden-brown color and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom.
- Using heavy oven mitts, carefully lift the bread out of the pot and allow it to cool on a wire rack 1-2 hours before slicing.
- Category: Sourdough Greek Country Bread
- Cuisine: Greek
Who are the Bread Baking Babes?
We are a group of bread bakers who get together every month and bake bread! We have a Facebook group if you’d like to bake along. New recipes are posted every month on the 16th.
Elle, of Feeding My Enthusiasms, is the host kitchen this month. If you want to bake along with us as a Buddy, check out her blog for details on how to participate. She’ll send you a Buddy badge, and feature you in the round-up. Deadline to get your e-mail to her is March 29th.
Check out the different variations for this month’s bake:
Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle (host kitchen)
Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
blog from OUR kitchen– Elizabeth
Bread Experience – Cathy
Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
Thyme for Cooking – Katie (roundup)
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Karen says
I’ve been coveting that cloche! Your loaf is gorgeous and the crumb is perfection.
Cathy says
Thank you Karen! I love the Dutch oven combo baker, but the bread cloche is much lighter and makes a great crusty bread.
Kelly says
Well if that isn’t just perfection!! I really need to get some semolina and make it again.
Cathy says
Ha ha! Thank you Kelly! You really do need to get some semolina. It is absolutely divine in this bread.
Elle says
Wonderful loaf and great post. Thanks for explaining how you converted to sourdough starter and for including links to the other Babes. I like that this is now your Greek bread with sesame seed!
Cathy says
Thank you for choosing this bread. This is now my go to Greek bread, and the sesame seeds are the icing on the cake.
Elizabeth says
Your bread is so beautiful! And the crumb is so white! It makes the contrast between crust and crumb even more dramatic. (I guess that is partly due to using white whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat flour.)
Cathy says
Thank you Elizabeth! It must be the white whole wheat flour. Go figure!
Katie Zeller says
That needs a bowl of soup and I would be a very happy eater! The crust looks amazing!
Cathy says
Yes, a bowl of soup goes really well with this bread.