Recipe for Eftazymo

CHICKPEA STARTER

Chickpeas 200g, can be ground to a flour in a machne or 

just broken into pieces by hand with a quern. 

Add Pepper, ginger, mahlep - ¼ teaspoon each

Baking soda ½ teaspoon

300g hot water

SPONGE

AP Flour 200g

DOUGH

Hot water 300g

Durum 200g, Barley 100g, and AP flour 280g

Salt, 2 teaspoons

1.     STARTER: Place chickpeas in a large glass jar. Add spices and baking soda. Add 40°C hot water.

Keep warm at 40°C till foam + smell form. This can take 8-11 hours.

Dimitros places his starter in a styrofoam ice chest, with very hot water surrounding his jars, then he puts the lid on top to keep the heat.

2.     SPONGE: Remove chickpeas. Add flour and blend.

Keep warm. Let double in size.  This can take 30 minutes to 2 hours.

It is Greek tradition to place the sponge in a wooden trough that holds the heat. Then place the wooden trough by the oven to stay warm.

3. DOUGH: Pour sponge into a large bowl. Add hot water, salt, and 500g of flour. Use remaining flour for kneading. Mix dough, move to table, knead till smooth. Form into long oblong shapes. Let rise till double. Score deep cuts in each loaf approximately 5-8 times.

For rusks: Once cooled, break apart along the cuts. Bakes these a 2nd time in a low oven until very dry, turning each slice halfway through.