Artos: A Greek Celebration Bread

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #2

This bread was huge!!!! When I took it out of the oven my sister Arlene's first words were
" WOW....My Big Fat Greek Wedding Bread!"
Then Dan walked in the kitchen and said it looked like a hot cross bun on steroids...The next day Joanne walked into the kitchen and at a quick glance thought it was a turkey.
Oh well!

I knew this one was a little too big when Peter Reinhart's instructions said to roll out the ropes of dough that are draped over the bread to 10 inches. Mine needed to be double the length to get around this puppy. YIKES!!! I know why...I went out with my sister...lost track of time...and when we got home and spotted the bread from the outside of the house, I knew we were in trouble. I was actually worried that it wouldn't fit in the oven, let alone get bigger when baking. I was imagining it expanding so much the oven door would start opening and the bread would escape.
OK, I'm exagerating, a little.

This was the 2nd bread in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge and is usually made at Greek Easter or Christmas, but it was fun making it now too. I shaped this one like the Christopsomos, but because some of the tasters were not really fond of raisins and nuts in bread, I left those out and it was still very good.

This isn't a difficult bread to make and is great toasted for breakfast because it has cinnamon and cloves in it ...ummmm....and of course don't forget to slather it with butter . It also freezes well! I took some out of the freezer when my Dad and Ruth were over and they liked it too.
By the way...I have a lot in the freezer :)

Until we bake again...
Penny