Christopsomo

Greek Christ-bread scented with anise, mastic, and orange, marked with a cross and studded with walnuts

Origin: Greece

From the journey of Anise.

Christópsomo means Christ-bread, and it is the loaf a Greek household bakes on Christmas Eve. It is made at home rather than bought, it is decorated rather than merely baked, and it is not cut until the head of the household has made the sign of the cross over it at the table on Christmas Day and offered the first piece. The flavouring is the oldest part of it. Anise, which the Greeks called ánison and gave to Latin and thence to every language in Europe, is the leading note; mastic, the resin of Pistacia lentiscus grown only on Chios, supplies a piney sweetness that nothing else can imitate; and orange zest lifts both. Some regions add mahlepi, ground cherry kernel, and some do not. What is constant across the whole country is the anise. The decoration carries meaning and varies by island and village. A cross of dough laid across the top is universal, its four ends often coiled into spirals. Walnut halves are pressed into the crown and into the quarters, and in some houses a whole walnut in its shell goes into the centre for luck. Cretan loaves may be worked into wheat sheaves, birds, or a shepherd's crook, depending on the household's trade; a farming family marks the bread with what it farms. In parts of the Peloponnese a coin is baked in, though that more properly belongs to the vasilopita of New Year. The dough is enriched but not lavishly so, and it is better for being made slowly. It is a two-rise bread and the second rise should not be rushed, because the mastic and anise need time to move through the crumb. Baked well, it keeps for the better part of a week and is at its best on the second and third days, toasted and buttered, which is what most of any Christopsomo is actually eaten as.

Ingredients

Dough

600 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
7 g fast-action dried yeast
120 g caster sugar
1.5 tsp anise seed, lightly crushed in a mortar
0.5 tsp mastic crystals, ground to a powder with a pinch of the sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest, from one large orange
1 tsp fine sea salt
180 ml whole milk, warmed to blood heat
2 whole eggs, at room temperature
80 ml mild olive oil
60 g unsalted butter, softened

To Decorate

12 halves walnut halves, plus one whole walnut in its shell if liked
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

Grind the mastic crystals to a fine powder in a mortar with a pinch of the caster sugar. Crush the anise seed separately, cracking the husks without reducing them to dust.
Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, crushed anise, ground mastic, orange zest, and salt in a large bowl and mix thoroughly so the aromatics are evenly distributed before any liquid goes in.
Beat the warm milk, eggs, and olive oil together and pour into the dry ingredients. Bring to a rough dough, then knead for eight to ten minutes until smooth and elastic. Work in the softened butter a little at a time and knead for a further five minutes; the dough will loosen alarmingly before it comes back together.
Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for one and a half to two hours, until doubled.
Knock back gently and remove two pieces of dough of about 80 g each for the cross. Shape the remainder into a tight round and set it on a lined baking sheet.
Roll each reserved piece into a rope roughly 30 cm long. Lay them across the loaf as a cross, and coil the four ends into tight spirals. Press a walnut half into each of the four quarters and set the whole walnut, if using, at the centre where the ropes meet.
Cover loosely and prove for a further hour, until visibly puffed. Heat the oven to 170°C fan, 190°C conventional.
Glaze the loaf all over with the beaten egg and milk, taking care not to pool it in the crevices, and scatter with sesame seeds. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until deep chestnut brown and hollow when tapped underneath. Tent with foil after 25 minutes if it is colouring too fast.
Cool completely on a rack before cutting, which by tradition does not happen until Christmas Day.

Notes

Mastic is worth seeking out and is sold by Greek and Middle Eastern grocers in small tins of pale crystals; a little goes a very long way, and half a teaspoon is the upper limit for this quantity of flour. If none can be found, leave it out rather than substituting anything: the loaf is still good on anise and orange alone. Do not increase the anise to compensate. The loaf keeps for four or five days wrapped in a cloth, and is at its best on the second and third day. Stale Christopsomo toasted and spread with butter and honey is, in most Greek households, the actual point of making a large one. Regional variants: Cretan loaves are shaped into wheat sheaves or birds; some northern versions add a handful of raisins or chopped dried figs to the dough; and a few add mahlepi, ground cherry kernel, at about half a teaspoon alongside the mastic.

The Gastrographer

Name: Christopsomo
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 4 h 30 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 600 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting; 7 g fast-action dried yeast; 120 g caster sugar; 1.5 tsp anise seed, lightly crushed in a mortar; 0.5 tsp mastic crystals, ground to a powder with a pinch of the sugar; 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest, from one large orange; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 180 ml whole milk, warmed to blood heat; 2 whole eggs, at room temperature; 80 ml mild olive oil; 60 g unsalted butter, softened; 12 halves walnut halves, plus one whole walnut in its shell if liked; 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing; 2 tbsp sesame seeds

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control