There’s always a freshly baked loaf on our table, something to mop up the juices of roasted tomatoes, to scoop up garlicky hummus stirred with rose harissa or to dip into a bowl of zing-fresh labneh and it’s such a pleasure to bake your own. I forget that sometimes. This recipe for a very simple Greek bread is inspired by an antiquated artisan bakery we came across on the harbour side of Corfu old town. The utilisation of a mix of ancient grains here and the addition of an olive oil and egg yolk glaze scattered with sesame, fennel, nigella seeds and sea salt flakes makes this bread deeply satisfying and absolutely irresistible.

Makes one large loaf

Ingredients

For the dough:
500g bread flour, I use Doves Farm organic heritage seeded bread flour
1-2 tsp fine sea salt
7g dried yeast
1 tsp natural unrefined golden caster sugar

For the glaze and garnish:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp Raphael’s Cretan extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp sea salt flakes

How I make it

Mix the flour and sea salt in a large bowl.

Add the yeast and sugar to 325ml warm water, briefly whisk to mix everything together and leave to bubble away for 10 minutes. Make a well in the flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix everything together until you get a rough dough.

Turn out onto a cool lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth and springy dough. Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside until it’s doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead again for a couple of minutes. Shape into a large oval load and place on a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise again.

When you’re ready to bake, heat an oven to 200C.

Using your fingers, make a few irregular indents in the dough – as you would if you were making focaccia – to form little wells for the glaze and seeds.

Whisk the egg yolk with the oil and brush over the top of the dough making sure that you’ve covered as much of the surface area as you can. Sprinkle liberally with a mixture of the seeds and sea salt flakes.

Bake for around 15-20 minutes removing from the oven when the crust is golden brown.

For more information about Raphael’s Mediterranean Deli products, please click this link.