Greek Village Bread Recipe (Horiatiko psomi) 🥖

Greek village bread (horiatiko psomi) on a wooden cutting board.

5 from 2 votes

Greek Village Bread Recipe (Horiatiko psomi) 🥖

Don't overlook the most important tip if you want to learn how to make Horiatiko psomi like a true Greek! Also known as Greek village bread or country bread, this traditional loaf holds an indispensable place on every Greek table. It will surely earn a place among your favorite bread recipes.

Prep Time1 25

Cook Time35

Total Time2

Course: Appetizer, Side

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 116kcal

Author: Makos

Ingredients

8.8 oz bread flour see notes for cup measurements
8.8 oz durum wheat flour a.k.a. semola - see notes
10.6 oz water lukewarm
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Proof the yeast: Add the water to a large bowl and sprinkle the dry yeast. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of the flour (so that the yeast has something to eat) and set aside in a warm place for 10-15 minutes. After that time you should see some activity going on like small bubbles or foam.
Make the bread dough: Add the flour and the salt and stir with a wooden spoon until all of the flour is hydrated (the mixture may look dry at first but that's normal).
No need to knead at this stage, just cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a wet towel and set aside in a warm place until tripled in volume (about 1 hour).
Knead: Transfer the bread dough to your kitchen counter and knead for 5 minutes until you get a soft, smooth and pliable dough.
I like to take small portions of dough and rub them against the surface of my counter to form thin strings. I've found that this method helps to develop the gluten of the flour and makes the dough very smooth.
Shape the bread: After kneading, roll the dough into a ball and shape it into one large or two smaller loaves (please note that in the photos and video I made half a recipe so I made just one small loaf). Optionally, you can brush the loaf with some water and roll it over some sesame seeds.
Cover the loaf with a dump towel and let it rise until almost doubled in volume (about 30 minutes).
Preheat your oven to 390°F (200°C).
Bake: Once the bread has doubled in volume, score it with a sharp knife and brush it with some water (this makes the crust more crispy).
Bake it in the oven until golden brown and the crust seems crispy (about 30-35 minutes if you make two small loaves or 50-55 minutes for one large loaf).
Transfer on a cooling rack and let it come to room temperature before slicing.

Video

Notes

Durum wheat flour is a type of hard wheat flour with yellow color. In Greek it is often named as yellow flour or "alevri zimoto". You may also know it as semola flour (but it's not the same as semolina, because it is much finer).
This recipe will also work with durum wheat flour only or with normal bread flour only.
This is a 60% hydration recipe which will give you an easy to work with, not sticky dough. If by any chance the dough becomes sticky during kneading, just add a sprinkle of flour.
Salt plays a big role in the taste of the bread. Here it is approximately 9-10 grams (1 ½ teaspoon) for the basic recipe, which is 1.25% in total. This is not too much neither too little. Feel free to adjust the quantity according to your taste.
Temperature will affect the time that the dough and the bread need to rise. I place it in a closed oven set at 95°F (35°C).

The quantities are given by weight because 1 cup of normal bread flour isn't the same weight as 1 cup of durum wheat (semola) flour. For reference my measurements where:

4.4 oz (125 grams) durum wheat flour = ¾ cups (approximately)
4.4 oz (125 grams) bread flour = 1 cup

Nutrition