Christopsomo (Greek Christmas Bread) #BreadBakers

The Bread Bakers are feeling festive! We have baked Christmas breads from all across the world. Scroll down to see the list of offerings today. But first, let's talk about mine. 

Christopsomo, literally "Christ Bread" is a sweet, rich bread enjoyed in Greece at Christmas. It's filled with walnuts and often raisins and different spices. The decoration is what drew me to it. There is the symbolic cross as well as nuts on the outside. They typically place an unshelled walnuts in the center but I don't have access to that here so I used an almond. I also saw that many families add decorations that symbolize the family's main profession. Be sure to look at all the decoration possibilities when you're ready to make your own. 

Christopsomo

Ingredients

500 grams flour 

60 grams sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of ground cloves

280 ml water

50 ml oil

100 grams raisins

100 grams walnuts chopped

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water for egg wash.

Nuts for decoration

Directions

Whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, yeast, salt and ground cloves then add the water and oil. Knead until a soft dough forms then cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Now this is critical: I saw several ways how the cross was handled. Some persons removed a chunk of dough at this point. Others waited until after the raisins and walnuts were added. Others made new dough. I first did it the second way. DO NOT DO THAT. Trying to roll small dough ropes that has raisins and walnuts is NOT how you want to spend your baking session. You can either remove about 280 grams of dough at this point or knead about that much separately. That was my second option -hence the cross being a different colour in these pictures and I actually prefer that look. For that, I used  190 grams of flour, 90 grams of water, a bit of salt and a pinch of cinnamon.

Make your decision then proceed. 

Take your dough and add in the chopped walnuts and raisins. Some persons turn the walnuts into almost walnut flour to make this easier but I left chunks for texture. Knead well until it's incorporated and then place in a greased, covered dough to bulk ferment. I do an overnight bulk ferment for all my doughs and that works best for me. 

After the dough has bulk fermented, it's time to shape. So your main dough will be shaped into a lovely boule. Take your cross dough and divide into two equal halves and then divide those into three. Roll into balls and then roll out into thin ropes. I aimed for about 45 cm/18 inches. Plait three of those ropes together and then drape over your boule in the shape of a cross. Perfect. 

I placed my boule  in a greased and lined 8 inch pan to allow it to have some structure. But you can bake it without it. 

Now decorate!! Add some nuts wherever you like but you definitely want one big one in the center. I've seen persons add cloves as well. If you're feeling artistic, add something that represents your household. 

Cover and allow to proof until puffy. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

When the dough is ready, brush it with the egg wash and place in the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until your dough is golden. 

Remove. Cool. Enjoy. 

Merry Christmas!

• Passion Kneaded: Christopsomo (Greek Christmas Bread) 
• A Messy Kitchen: Joululimppu 
• The Wimpy Vegetarian: Julekake : A Norwegian Christmas Bread 
• Food Lust People Love: Lassy Raisin Bread 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Laufabraud 
• Zesty South Indian Kitchen: Sourdough bobalki (Slovak Christmas eve bread) 
• Sneha's Recipe: Vánočka/Vanocka - Czech Christmas Bread 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Venezuelan Christmas Ham Bread - Pan de Jamón

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Mint Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins

So rich. So good. 

There's really nothing else I can say about these muffins. I adapted this recipe from Sally Baking Addiction's Double Chocolate Muffins so you know it's a good one. My only regret is that I made a small batch. Don't be like me, double the recipe below; you deserve it.

For other amazing muffins, scroll down to see what the other Muffin Monday bakers made today. 

Mint Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins

Yield 7-8 muffins

Ingredients 

1 cup (125 grams) flour 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt 

3/4 cup mint chocolate chips 

1 egg

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons yogurt

1/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup oil 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Directions 

Line a muffin pan with muffin liners or grease well. Preheat oven to 425 F. 

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and mint chocolate chips. In a separate bowl whisk egg, yogurt, milk, oil, and vanilla. 

Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until no dry streaks remain. Scoop the batter into the muffin wells.  You can reserve some mint chocolate chips to sprinkle on top at this point. 

Bake for 5 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. 

• Cranberry Squash Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mint Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Chocolate Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Pecan Pie Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Turmeric Granola Blueberry Muffins from A Messy Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin-loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins - #MuffinMonday

Last week I took a few days off work and it was amazing. It was two years of going non-stop and the last year in particular was HARD. I was struggling to manage my calendar and not overbook myself and just barely making it through my extremely short weekends. I work on Saturdays so it is really just Sunday to get everything done. 

The day I returned to work, I saw this quote on Facebook. "If you don't take a break, your body will take one for you and it won't be a convenient time." So so true. I was really starting to think I was at my breaking point. Never a good thing. My calendar is still a mess but I have made a promise to myself to actively work on making it more manageable and schedule more days off from work.

The plan was to catch up on some baking during my down time but that didn't happen. No worries, I found time yesterday to pull out the baking pans and whip up some muffins. 

It's Muffin Monday so as usual, there are sweet and savoury treats down below for you. Be sure to check them all out. 

Chocolate Chip  Nut Muffins 

Yield:  16 muffins

Ingredients

375 grams all purpose flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

pinch of nutmeg 

1 cup sugar 

1 cup milk 

2/3 cup oil 

1/3 cup yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pistachios)

Directions

Grease or line your muffin tins. Preheat oven to 425 F. 

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. In another bowl whisk sugar, milk, oil, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and then gently fold until there are no more streaks of flour. Next, fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. You can reserve some to top the muffins. 

Divide the batter among 16 baking wells - filling almost to the top. 

Bake for 5 mins at 425 F then reduce to 350 F and bake another 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Notes

Muffin recipe adapted from Sally Baking Addiction. 

• Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Fruit Curd Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Mocha Oatmeal Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin Apple Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Zucchini Feta Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin-loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.