By Jill Campbell Mackay
THE FIRST time I made it resulted in a heavy compound reminiscent of putty and lead. I carried proudly in my school satchel and after a time my pride and joy became fuzzy with white and green growths. This was a subtle indication that my first attempt at bread making had, alas, become a lab experiment gone wrong and was duly binned by my mother who said it was a health hazard.
Your first experience of making bread at home is never forgotten. It may turn out the texture of Kleenex or roofing tiles, but regardless of failure, there is still great satisfaction to be had from just kneading the dough. Then there’s the wonderfully evocative aroma that wafts from the oven whilst baking and finally the sheer pleasure of tucking into slices of warm bread smothered in butter – truly one of life’s better experiences.
For 8000 years bread has been the daily mainstay of the human diet, but it was the ever-innovative Egyptians who first took bread making to new heights, away from the stodgy porridge like substance to the creation of over 50 different types of bread. Some were flavoured with poppy, and sesame seeds. They also used aromatic camphor and sweetened and enriched their bread with honey, milk and eggs.
Then the Romans came along, giving us the first flour mills, plus a machine to mix and knead dough. So important was the status of commercial bread-makers that by the end of the second century AD the Roman government had organised special guilds or colleges, the main purpose of which was to ensure that the number of people practising the craft of bread-making never fell below a certain number. A Roman baker in the fourth century BC was treated with great respect, considered by the townspeople to be the wisest of men and believed to have been imbued by the Gods, with bountiful blessings and strange magic powers.
Andreas Constantinides may dispute the magical powers but since his bakery opened in 1994 he has worked hard to change people’s perception about ‘Our Daily Bread’. From his bakery in Yeroskipou, this highly motivated and talented young man has succeeded in tempting the locals to take home not only the tried and tested traditional Cypriot bread but also soda, rye, corn, wholemeal, procorn, soya, Italian, and French, and gluten free breads.
His crumpets, are simply delicious, the fluffy miniature juicy pizzas made daily certainly differ from those made by other bakeries.
Over 1000 customers a day come into the Constantinides bakery to buy Bagels, buns, Cornish pasties, Gypsy pies, croissants, baguettes, par baked ciabbatas, strong garlic bread and a whole range of other goodies.
Andreas’s first learnt the fundamentals of the bakery trade from his father Panicos who is also a master baker based in Nicosia. It was only after studying business administration at Cyprus College that Andreas felt he was qualified to launch his own bakery with a difference. Key to his success has been the creation of more European recipes, made mainly to satisfy the expat market. He also has the confidence of his customers who regularly come into the shop specifically to give him new recipes to try out.
One resident Irish lady yearning for a taste of soda bread did just that, and now Andreas can hardly keep up the demand for this typical Celtic loaf.
Working in secret, Andreas alone is responsible for the creation of the different doughs and fillings that make up his delicious range of breads, for these days the designer bread business is a highly competitive one.
Andreas is always on the look out for different recipes, so if you have one for Auntie Ludmilla’s Russian buckwheat flat-bread, Granny’s Irish spice bread, or Uncle John’s American raisin nut bread, then pop on down and see Andreas. If he feels there is a market for a particular bread pastry or bun, then he is the best man to make it.
Constantinides bakeries.
22 Arch Makarios Avenue
8200 Yeriskipou
Paphos
Tel- 26 960 518
26 813 163
Fax 26 9655365
Email: [email protected].
This week’s recipe is from Jutta Kurtz and is for sheep’s cheese bread (Schfskasebrot)
Ingredients to make one 30cm cylindrical loaf.
1kg strong plain flour
30g fresh yeast or 1tbsp dried yeast
250g feta cheese
1tsp sugar
½ litre tepid water
1tsp salt
3 large onions chopped
1 tbsp oil
Method.
Cream the yeast with the sugar and all but three tablespoons of the tepid water.
Leave the mixture in a warm place until it is foaming, about 15 minutes.
Sift the flour and salt into a warmed mixing bowl and add the onions.
Stir in the cheese and the yeast mixture and knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes.
Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about one and a half hours, or until doubled in bulk.
Knock back the dough and knead it again for about 5 minutes, dusting with flour if it sticks to your fingers.
Shape the dough into an oval 30cm long and leave it to prove on a buttered baking sheet for about 30 minutes or until it has doubled in bulk again.
With a very sharp knife make three shallow diagonal slashes in the top of the loaf.
Brush the loaf with oil, but do not brush the oil into the gashes.
Bake the loaf in a preheated oven 200C (400F or Mark 6) oven for 50 minutes to one hour or until golden brown.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
