View Orthodox:Assemble Raise Bake Finished
Brush and Assemble
⇒ Lightly brush the bottom layer with water enough to make the dough a bit sticky, don’t soak.
If your baking sheet is well seasoned it may be best to cover with aluminum foil to prevent the loaves from picking up any oils and coloration off the baking sheet. I usually need to cover mine since they are well seasoned. If you use a non-stick pan, no problem.
⇒ Place top round on-center on bottom layer with the imprints facing the same direction.
Note: Some recipes call for allowing the top layer to raise separate from the bottom and then assembling before baking. This never made much sense to me and would take up too much room in the kitchen so I’ve never done it that way.
⇒ Prick prosphora with toothpick making the sign of the Cross all the way through both layers. This will insure that they will stay connected and will release moisture preventing too much rising.
Raise
⇒ After 1+ hour in warm location covered with a towel they are ready to bake.
Raising will be longer in cool kitchen. Don’t skimp here, if dough has not raised enough in pre-bake phase it will raise too much/quickly in the oven and the prosphora will be more likely to get misshapen. I pushed the pre-bake raising too much for this demo and had a number of duds.
Bake
⇒ Place in middle rack of 350 degree oven bake for 10-12 minutes.
⇒ Watch carefully until you are certain of how quickly your oven bakes. Adjust baking time accordingly.
Prosphora should only be lightly colored when done, preferably not at all.
Finished
The Good
Now this one looks good. Layers have merged but still look distinct. Imprint is clear and uniform. If you can’t see the imprint than you probably should cut back on the amount of yeast.
The Bad
This prosphora had an air bubble that caused it to rise too much on one side. Check each layer for tiny bubbles and prick with toothpick to lessen the chances of this. Also allowing the proper amount of pre-bake rising is important too. 1-1.5 hours should be enough if room is warm.
Bag Them
With proper care prosphora can be kept in the freezer for sometime. I usually make a double batch which is about a months worth of prosphora for our small church community.
⇒ Use a heavy ziplock bag with a paper towel inside to absorb moisture, remove as much air as possible. Put bags into another bag, seal and put in the freezer to reduce chances of freezer burn.
Thaw Them
⇒ Remove from freezer several hours before needed and spread on cooling rack.
⇒ Dab any accumulated frost and moisture with a paper towel.
⇒ Place in airy basket and cover with cloth.
Avoid microwaving at all costs!