Stafidopsomo

the Greek currant bread of the vintage kitchen: an olive-oil dough sweetened with grape molasses and orange juice, worked full of Corinthian currants and warm spice, baked dark and eaten in thick slices with coffee

Origin: Greece

From the journey of Currant.

Corinth gave the currant its name, and the northern Peloponnese still grows the tiny seedless black grape whose dried fruit English merchants once bought by the shipload. In its homeland the fruit is not an import but the ordinary sweetness of the house, and stafidopsomo, the currant bread, is what the vintage kitchen does with it. It belongs to the great family of Greek olive-oil breads that are made without butter, milk, or eggs, and which therefore serve equally on ordinary days and on the fasting days of the Orthodox calendar, when animal products are set aside. Its sweetness comes not from refined sugar but from the fruit itself and from petimezi, the dark grape molasses boiled down from unfermented must at the pressing, so that the loaf tastes entirely of the vineyard: grape, grape, and grape again, lifted with orange zest, cinnamon, and clove. Every currant-growing village of Achaea and the Corinthia has its own proportions, some working in walnuts, some a splash of ouzo or tsipouro, and the loaf is cut in thick slices and eaten with coffee in the morning or handed to visitors through the long afternoon of the harvest.

Ingredients

Fruit

200 g dried currants (Corinthian currants for preference)
150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice, warmed
2 tbsp tsipouro, ouzo, or brandy (optional)

Dough

500 g strong white bread flour
7 g fast-action dried yeast
1 tsp fine sea salt
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground cloves
1 whole orange, zest finely grated
100 ml petimezi (grape molasses), or runny honey
80 ml extra virgin olive oil
150 ml warm water
60 g walnut pieces (optional)

To Finish

1 tbsp petimezi thinned with 1 tbsp water, to glaze
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

Put the currants in a bowl with the warm orange juice and the spirit, if using, and leave them to plump for 30 minutes whilst you make the dough. Do not drain them: the soaking liquid goes into the loaf.
In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest. Make a well and pour in the petimezi, the olive oil, the warm water, and the currants with all their soaking liquid. Bring together to a soft, sticky, dark dough.
Knead on a lightly oiled surface for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic, working in the walnuts towards the end if you are using them. Return to an oiled bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until doubled.
Knock the dough back gently, shape it into a fat oval or plait, and set it on a lined baking sheet. Cover loosely and leave to prove for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour, until well risen and springy. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
Brush the loaf with the thinned petimezi, scatter over the sesame seeds, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until deeply browned and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Notes

Petimezi is sold by Greek grocers and is worth seeking out, since it carries the flavour of the vineyard that gives this loaf its point; runny honey is the usual substitute and gives a lighter, floral result. Use true Corinthian currants rather than raisins or sultanas: the small, hard, sharp fruit distributes evenly through the crumb and does not turn to sweet mush in the oven. Stafidopsomo keeps for four or five days wrapped in a cloth and is excellent toasted on the third day, and it freezes well whole or in slices. It is eaten plain with coffee, or with a slice of hard sheep's cheese, and in some houses with a spoonful of thick yoghurt.

The Gastrographer

Name: Stafidopsomo
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 3 h 40 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 200 g dried currants (Corinthian currants for preference); 150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice, warmed; 2 tbsp tsipouro, ouzo, or brandy (optional); 500 g strong white bread flour; 7 g fast-action dried yeast; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.25 tsp ground cloves; 1 whole orange, zest finely grated; 100 ml petimezi (grape molasses), or runny honey; 80 ml extra virgin olive oil; 150 ml warm water; 60 g walnut pieces (optional); 1 tbsp petimezi thinned with 1 tbsp water, to glaze; 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control