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Church Recipes
Church Recipes
Delve into the sacred tradition of church recipes with our carefully compiled portfolio. Each recipe for Prosphora, Artoclasia, is a symbol of faith and community, crafted with reverence and precision. Our collection celebrates the rich culinary heritage of the Orthodox Church, highlighting time-honored techniques and ingredients that have been passed down through generations. Explore detailed recipes offering a glimpse into the spiritual and cultural significance of each recipe.
Written Recipe Artoclasia
(Sweet Bread, NOT for Communion)
This recipe makes 10 loaves.
Ingredients
• Besan (Chick Pea Flour) – 2 cups
• Chapati (Whole Wheat Flour) – 4 cups
• Unbleached White Flour – ~12 cups, more if necessary
• Sugar – 2 1/2 cups
• Vegetable Oil – 1 cup
• Rose Water – 1 capful
• Active Dry Yeast – 1 1/2 Tbsp.
• Water
Decoration
• Unbleached White Flour – 4 cups
• Vegetable Oil – 1/4 cup
• Water
Tools
• Baking sheets lined with parchment
• Rolling pin
• Knife
• Wax paper
Instructions
1. Dump everything into a bowl, except the water, and stir thoroughly.
2. Add water until you have a stiff bread dough. If you add too much water, dont be afraid to add more flour. This isnt nuclear science.
3. Knead the dough for 20 minutes.
4. Set it aside to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until double in volume. Dont forget to cover the dough.
5. While the bread is rising, mix the dough for the decorations. It should be moderately dry. Let is set after kneading for 15 minutes. Make sure you knead it for 20 minutes so that is is nice and elastic. Otherwise, it will be sheer agony to work with.
6. After the decoration dough has set, cut a piece of wax paper and set it next to your floured work area. Cut and equal size piece of plastic wrap to act as cover.
7. Roll out the decoration dough to the thickness of two nickels. Cut out your decorations and set them on the wax paper, then cover with plastic wrap.
8. Once the bread dough has risen, preheat the oven for 325àƒÆ’â€Å¡àƒâ€šÂ°.
9. Take the dough out and punch it down.
10. Shape the loaves into balls (x10) while working out all the air bubbles, then arrange them on the baking sheet. Leave plenty of room between each.
11. Pat them down so that they are not more than 1 1/2 high.
12. Damped the outside of the bread, then lay the decorations on the bread. Make sure the pieces of decorative dough have good contact with crust.
13. Cover each loaf with plastic wrap when you are finished decorating.
14. Let the loaf set for 15 minutes before baking.
15. Bake at 325àƒÆ’â€Å¡àƒâ€šÂ° for 45-50 minutes.
Decorating Instructions (with diagrams)
1. There are three kinds of decorations we use at the Chapel on our Artos: grapevines, olive branches and wheat stalks.
2. Shake a little flour on the wax paper, and make sure you lay your pieces on the waxy side. Dont let them set for too long: dough can stick to anything if it sits long enough.
3. Keep your work covered with plastic wrap, otherwise it will get a cracked skin.
4. You have the advantage over bread dough in that this dough has no yeast, so it wont rise as you work with it and distort.
5. Roll the dough to the thickness of two nickels.
6. Shoe-lace strips of dough (not tennis shoe wide, but thin) become stalks or vines to which fruit and leaves are attached. To make small offshoots (tendrils in the case of grapevines), just cut a long notch into the branch and stretch the piece out on the loaf. Curl it like a grapevine tendril and stick it down.
7. To make grapes, I punch the dough with a pen cap. If the dough sticks in the cap, I blow through the hole at the top of the cap (make sure you have an airhole to blow through).
8. For the leaves, I make long lateral cuts through the dough, then turn the blade and make another series of cuts creating a whole series of diamonds
9. For grape leaves, cut a small diamond out of one long end of a diamond. A few cuts along the side and tugging at the corners will form the natural shape of the leaves. When sticking leaves to the loaf, I run a knife along the vein lines of the leaf. It not only helps it stick, but gives the leaf internal contours which make it more realistic. Get a jar of grape leaves and unfold one if you need help visualizing where to make the cuts.
10. Olive branches are made with simple stems covered with diamond leaves. Tug the leaves on the sides to get rid of the smaller corners and so they have a rounded appearance. Use small balls, slightly flattened, for olives. Dont try pushing in a life-size ball of decoration dough: it will turn rock hard in the baking process and later will trouble the birds it ends up being fed to.
11. To represent a head of wheat, cut a 1/2 x 1 1/2 stripe. Cut off the corners to make arrows out of both ends. Run the knife from the middle to the top multiple times to make the hairs on the end of a wheat stalk. Cut a thin strip of dough for the shaft and stick it on the loaf. Stick the wheat head on top. Take your knife a cut a series of V down the rest of the wheat head, then cut it down the middle, which will give you the appearance of grains.
12. Keep your loaf covered when not working with it. Before you try to stick something to it, make sure the surface is still tacky. Rewet if necessary.
Written Recipe Georges Prosphora
Note: This recipe has been compiled from numerous sources and various experiments, first posted January 31, 1999. Since that time, I have modified the recipe somewhat to refect further experimentation. I am constantly looking for new ways to improve.
This recipe makes four Byzantine style loaves.
Ingredients
-High-gluten or regular bleached flour – 14 cups
-(~100 degrees) water – 4 cups
-Active Dry Yeast – 1 1/2 Tbsp.
-Salt – 2 Tsp.
-Nothing else! I will comment later on why.
Instructions
1.Place 12 cups of flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, mix the dry ingredients until blended.
2.Mix in all of the water, stirring with the spoon until the dough begins to clump up. When you cant use the spoon any longer, begin to knead the dough with your hands. Mash the clumps of dough into a single ball.
3.Here is where you need to stop and look at your workplace. To avoid kneading injuries, you need to be able to work the dough with straight arms. If you are short, like me, you can put the bread in the bowl and do your kneading on the floor in a kneeling position. Otherwise, put the ball on a floured board on your sink and start to work it.
4.Knead the dough with the heel of your palms, both pressing down and pushing the ball away from you. You shouldnt just press the dough, but stretch it out. The reason for this will be covered elsewhere. Knead the dough for 20 minutes . As you knead, stretch and slam the dough frequently to aerate the dough.
5.The consistency you are trying to achieve is crucial. I suggest the following: first, add more rather than less water right off the bat, then add flour to achieve the right consistency. Adding water to dry dough is messy, whereas adding flour to wet dough is a bit easier and faster. Second, the proper consistency is judged by pushing the well mixed dough ball with a finger up to the second knuckle. If the dough sticks to the end of your finger but not the sides, you have the proper consistency. The dough, if folded over and pushed, should heal and not remain two pieces. Yet, it shouldnt stick to lightly floured, smooth surfaces. Add flour as you knead until you get the right consistency. This takes practice!
6.After 15-20 minutes have passed (or you collapse from exhaustion), cover the dough with plastic wrap in a bowl with enough room for the dough to grow. Leave a little gap or two for air to escape, but not enough for real circulation to occur and harden the surface of the ball. Place this in a warm place, like the oven before use. The heat from the pilot usually makes the oven ideal for rising (80 degrees is sufficient).
7.Allow the dough to rise long enough to double in size (usually no more than 90 minutes).
8.Set your oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set your rack in the lower section of the oven. For a softer crust, consult the page on Steam Baking.
9.Take the bowl and uncover the dough. Grabbing the sides of the ball where it is sticking to the bowl, pull it away from the sides and punch it down in the center. Keep doing this until the dough is roughly the same size it was before it began to rise. Bust air bubbles as they surface and knead for a few minutes.
10.Cut the ball into four equal pieces (the picture is from a larger batch). Work three of them into separate balls, place them back in the bowl and cover again. The piece left over will be your first loaf. Place it on a floured board, and cut it in half.
11.Choose one of the two pieces and work it until you are confident that there are virtually no air bubbles left in it. Form it into a ball, then flatten this out until it is around 1/2 thick
12.Take a 9 cake pan or the equivalent (I actually use a large coffee can with holes poked in the bottom) and press it into the dough, like a cookie cutter. This will give you a perfectly round loaf with little effort. Trim away the excess, and set this with the remaining portion aside.
13. Flour your pizza stone, baking sheet or baking pan, then lay the main loaf body on it.
14.Using a conventional teaspoon or your fingers, take some water (about 1/2 tsp.) and pour it on the surface of the dough, rubbing it around with the bottom of the spoon. This dampens the top of the dough, making it sticky and allowing the seal portion to adhere without a bubble. Do not allow the water to run off the top, otherwise it will cause the loaf to glue itself to the baking surface! Very bad!
15.Now, roll out the remaining portion of the dough with extra flour, making it slightly thinner than the previous piece. Follow the same process as above. Make sure there is a fresh dusting of flour under this portion.
16.Using a dish of water, dampen your fingers and wet the top of the bottom portion, then moistening the bottom of the top portion. Make sure the water does not run off the loaf, because moisture under the loaf will make it stick like mad. Carefully lay the top on the bottom, make sure there arent any air bubbles trapped between the layers: the easiest way is to apply the top like a sticker, starting on one edge and moving across the top of the loaf like a Bandaid.
17.Flour the seal and mash it into the loaf as hard as you can.
18.Now, here is where you will need a tool: in my case, I use a Korean chopstick. This stick tapers gently down to a sharp point from the top to the bottom. When it pierces, it starts with a small hole and opens it, verses a blunt stick which will pull a good portion of the surface down with it and traumatize the seal.
19.Pierce the ends of the cross of the Lamb section, then once in the middle. You can then make decorative piercing along the perimeter of the loaf (I have seen some very elaborate ones).
20.Allow the loaf to sit out for 20 minutes and proof. This is discussed in greater detail elsewhere .
21.Pop it into the oven. Set your timer for 15 minutes. When it goes off, form another loaf. By the time you are done, it will be ready to turn the loaf in the oven around to achieve even browning (if your oven is ancient like mine!). Set the timer for another 20 minutes, allowing for the proofing time for the second loaf and the finish of the first.
22.Repeat this until there is no more dough.
Written Recipe Greek Prosphora
Note: This recipe is copied (with photograph) from Vefa Alexiadous wonderful cookbook, Greek Pastries and Desserts (ISBN 960-85018-7-3). I cannot praise this book enough, and recommend it to anyone interested in baking. You will find a load of great recipes, including a hefty section of Orthodox holiday breads.
Yields 2 Altar Breads
Preparation time 40 minutes
Baking time 20 minutes
Ingredients:
• 6 cups country or all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups tepid water (100 ºF)
• 1 recipe, Traditional Sourdough Starter {not reproduced here} or
• 1 oz fresh yeast or
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast
Procedure:
If using sourdough starter, reactivate it the night before. Otherwise, dissolve the yeast in one half cup of the tepid water. Add 3-4 tablespoons flour and mix well. Let it stand for about 10 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile sift the flour with the salt into a kneading basin and make a well in the center. Pour in the sour-dough starter or the yeast mixture and the remaining tepid water. Gradually incorporate flour from the sides of the well into the water until all the flour is moist, and knead until a smooth and elastic dough is formed. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Knead the dough again for about 5 minutes and divide into 4 equal parts. Shape each part into a ball. Slightly flatten the balls into rounds, pressing with your palms, and flour them generously. Put the two rounds, one on top of the other, in a well-floured baking pan. Dip the religious seal in flour, shake off the excess and press it firmly onto the floured surface. Let the seal remain on dough for about 5 minutes and carefully remove it. Place the other two rounds, the same way, onto a separate pan. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk. Just before baking, prick inside and outside corners of cross with a wooden skewer to attain a flat-top appearance of the breads. Bake in a 400 ºF oven for 15-20 minutes, taking care not to burn them. As soon as they are removed from the oven, brush them with a little water, using a pastry brush. Cover the altar breads with a cotton towel and leave them to cool on a rack.
Written Russian Prosphora Recipe
The basic recipe I follow is Russian in origin, but I think it will work for anybody. It was called _tri po tri_ (three by three how Orthodox!) since the principle ingredients are measured in threes, which is also an aid to memory. I have used this recipe in the monastery and in several parishes of various ethnic backgrounds, without complaints.
EQUIPMENT: large bowl for sifting flour large bread-mixing bowl (preferably not metal) sturdy large mixing spoon two large cookie sheets (I use pizza stones) large pastry board or *immaculately* clean work surface rolling pin pastry scraper or metal spatula flour sifter measuring cup small metal skewer or turkey pin carved seals of the size/shape appropriate for the kind of prosphora you are baking clean apron two clean pastry cloths about 30 square one large or two small pastry cooling racks large plastic bag (a new trash bag will do) Ziploc-style bags for transporting/freezing — the jumbo or 2-gallon sixe is best for large prosphora
INGREDIENTS: 9 cups unbleached flour (Pillsburys Bread Flour is good; natural flour, maybe from a health food store, is best; it is desirable to use flour which has not been artficially enhanced by adding anything (protein) or subtracting anything (by bleaching).
1 tablespoon (or one small packet) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups boiling water
Additional flour during kneading, and/or white corn meal for the baking sheets
DIRECTIONS: MAKE SURE THAT ALL UTENSILS, WORK SURFACES AND YOUR HANDS (SCRUB UNDER YOUR NAILS! WASH WITH UNSCENTED SOAP!) ARE SCRUPULOUSLY CLEAN; THAT YOUR HAIR/BEARD WILL NOT CONTAMINATE THE DOUGH; THAT NO HOUSEHOLD PETS ARE IN THE KITCHEN; THAT THE WINDOWS AND DOORS ARE CLOSED AGAINST DRAFTS AND DUST. If your hands begin to feel dry while working with the dough, resist the urge to apply lotion — it will contaminate the dough with undesirable oils and odors.
Cross yourself and make the Sign of the Cross over your ingredients, remembering that we will offer this bread and ask that Gods Holy Spirit change it and us, and make this bread the precious Body of (His) Christ.
1. Boil the water (preferably pure spring water from a bottle) in a clean pot or kettle. Turn off the heat and let the water stand while you quickly do steps 2-4. Dont measure the water before boiling, just boil more than three cups to allow for evaporation.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. If the label says pre-sifted, sift it anyway.
3. Measure nine cups (3×3) sifted flour into the bread bowl (cup means the whole vessel; you dont have to make it exactly even with the line.)
4. Add the yeast and salt, and stir to distribute them evenly throughout the dry flour. Pile the dry mixture in the center of the bread bowl.
5. Measure three cups of the boiled water into the dry mixture, adding it around the flour — dont pour it directly on top of it.
6. Stir the mixture until it begins to hold together; sprinkle some of the reserved flour on the work surface and scrape all the dough out of the bowl onto it.
7. Knead the dough thoroughly for as long as it takes to get it to be of even texture, elastic but fairly dry. Sprinkly some flour into the bread bowl, place the dough ito it, and cover with a cloth. Set the bowl in a warm spot to rise for an hour or so. Someplace near, but not on, the stove is best.
8. Light the oven and set it for 325.
9. WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN; knead the dough again until it is about the same size as it was before you let it rise.
10. Sprinkle the baking sheets with a generous coating of flour or white cornmeal. DO NOT USE OIL OF ANY KIND TO GREASE THE BAKING SHEETS.
11a. BYZANTINE (large) prosphora:
1. Divide the dough into two equal parts.
2. Cut off 1/4 of each part, and reserve.
3. Shape each of the two large pieces into a ball; roll them out until they are round and flat, about 1 1/2 inches thick.
4. Place the loaves on the baking sheets.
5. Roll out the two small pieces into circles a couple of inches smaller in diameter than the loaves, but larger than the seal.
6. Flour the circles on both sides. Impress the seal firmly and remove it at once.
7. Moisten the tops of the loaves thoroughly with water left over from what was boiled earlier, rubbing in with your fingertips.
8. Place the sealed circles on each loaf. Pat them firmly in place with your fingertips, but not so hard as to obliterate the seal. Cover the prosphora with a cloth and set them aside to rise for another 30 minutes.
9. Using the skewer, pierce each prosphoron in the center and at the corners of each of its five square sections, as well as around the edge of the circle.
10. Place one prosphoron on the ovens upper rack, and the other on the lower.
11. Reduce the temperature to 300. Bake for 30 minutes.
12. Remove the prosphora and rotate them: back to front, top to bottom; bake for another 45 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on top and sound hollow when you tap them. If there is any doubt in your mind that they are done, leave them in for another ten minutes or so. It is better to have them slightly overbaked than raw inside.
13. Brush off as much flour/white corn meal as you can from the bottom of each prosphoron. Place them on cooling racks.
14. Cover the prosphora with a dry cloth, and a damp cloth over the dry cloth. Place the cloth-covered prosphora on their racks into the large plastic bag. (This allows the prosphora to cool as they absorb mosture from the damp cloth, making them less crumbly.)
15. When the prosphora are completely cooled, brush them again to remove any remaining flour/white corn meal from their bottoms, and put them in sealed bags. Ideally, the prosphora should be baked on the morning of the day before the Liturgy. If necessary, they can be baked in advance and frozen in airtight bags until needed; even then, they should be taken out to thaw at least 24 hours in advance of the Liturgy: microwave thawing does undesirable things to bread.
11b. RUSSIAN (small) prosphora (also used for commemorations):
1. Divide the dough into two equal parts.
2. Roll out each part until it is about 1 thick.
3. With a 3 cookie cutter, cut twelve circles from each part and place them on the baking sheets, leaving as much space as possible between them.
4. Roll out the dough remaining from the cutting of the 24 circles until it is 1 thick.
5. With a 2 cookie cutter, cut 24 circles; flour them on both sides and seal them with the small seal.
7. Follow steps 7-15 as in 11a; baking time will be shorter, since the loaves are smaller. Pack these up in groups of five, making sure that there is at least one of good size and shape with a clear seal in each bag. This same recipe may be used for artoklasia; some people add a little rose water or citrus, or even dried fruit to it in that case. There are as many recipes for prosphora as there are _yayas_ and _babas_ and _siddis_, and other grannies too numerous to mention; this is just the one that is always worked for me.
Written Serbian Prosphora Recipe
The following ingredients are placed in a large bowl or pan that has been warmed with warm water:
1 pkg. yeast
3/4 cup of warm water (105 – 115 F)
a dash of salt
3 1/2 cups of flour (approx.)
Directions: dissolve the yeast in water, add salt and enough flour to make a manageable but not sticky dough (the degree of humidity will determine whether more or less flour is needed). Knead until smooth and elastic‹about twenty minutes by hand or seven to ten minutes with a dough hook. If using a dough hook knead one half of the dough at a time. This amount will make one medium-sized two-tiered loaf.
To shape into a loaf, roll out the top portion smaller than the bottom portion. The top portion should be just large enough to set the seal upon it (see diagram, p. 131). Press the seal firmly into the top portion. Brush the top surface of the bottom loaf lightly with water to make sure that the top portion adheres to the bottom, then place the top layer on the bottom one. Cover the loaf with a cloth and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size (one to one and a half hours). Then, bake the loaf about twenty to thirty minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember, the preparation of the prosphora is not just the making of another bread, but an offering to the Church which will become the Precious Body of our Lord; therefore it should not be made as part of bread prepared for regular use. Finally, conclude your work with a short prayer of thanksgiving of your own.
Written Why Prosphora Must Be Pure
Nothing but white flour, salt, water & yeast
By Subdeacon George Aquaro
Note: this paper is not meant to point fingers and accuse, but rather to call all of us to follow the Traditions lovingly handed down to us from our Fathers and Mothers in the Church. Sadly, the lack of education and strained bonds to our Mother Churches have allowed some unorthodox practices to take root in certain parishes, but we know the Holy Spirit is correcting these problems even as we speak. I ask that you copy this paper and distribute it in your parish if you identify the issues mentioned here as problems with your parish prosphora. Very often, our beloved clergy are very aware of these problems with prosphora, but out of love hold their peace so as not to hurt the feelings of those who work so hard at baking. If you do copy this paper, please remember the love we have for one another in Christ, and that these issues must be addressed in Christian charity, not harsh condemnation! Keep the Traditions, but don’t bash people over their heads with them!
Purity
The only ingredients in prosphora are white flour, water, salt and yeast. Simply put, the Holy Traditions mention nothing else! When we begin to add things to the pure bread, what are we saying about it? That it isn’t sufficient on it’s own? That people won’t like it if we don’t add something to it? Prosphora becomes the Body of Christ in the Eucharistic celebration. Think about what you are saying about the Bread of Life when you add things according to taste. Do we add things to our Faith to make it more tasteful? Or, when we partake in the simple bread of prosphora, do we remember that our Lord came as a simple carpenter and endured our poverty out of love for us?
No Oils
I know many a priest who fears the loaf with oil or lard added to it. This type of additive is the most insidious, often turning the chalice into a mini-reenactment of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Fats and oils create a number of hassles for the priest. I shall list a few everyone should think about:
It Floats – oils and fats added to prosphora negate one of the bread’s primary physical missions: to absorb the wine. Oils make the bread waterproof, thereby causing the bread to rise to the top of the wine. It Hardens – oils in dough harden when baking, giving the bread a chewy texture. This forces the priest to have to break up the bread forcibly with his spoon after placing the pieces in the chalice. Normally, the wine does this for him (think of a soggy piece of white bread and how it turns to mush. Now think of Italian bread, baked with olive oil, and how it holds together much better even when sopping wet with minestrone soup). This also makes his distribution of the Holy Gifts all the more challenging. Oil Slick – the oils also leach out of the bread and into the chalice. This is where the image of the Exxon Valdez comes in. Remember all the oil that leaked out on the Alaskan coast? Well, oils added to prosphora leak out of the bread in the chalice, especially with the high alcohol level of the sacramental wine acting as a solvent. This oil then coats the inside of the chalice and the spoon. This makes cleaning the chalice harder for the priest. Not only that, but since soap is not usually used to clean the chalice, oil can lead to an unhygienic buildup in the chalice and on the spoon, much as you see with lipstick.
No Spices
Remember what was said earlier about purity? Well, there something else to add to this subject.
Not everybody likes the same spices – Added flavorings are enjoyed by some people but disliked by others. Why add something to prosphora which is guaranteed to offend? Keep it same and leave out the vanilla, mahleb, cinnamon or whatever else you might be tempted to add for flavoring.
Chemical Reaction – some spices react chemically with the metals. This can accelerate tarnishing and even damage surfaces with time.
Yeast Retardation – spices like cinnamon actually retard yeast growth, making it the bread rise slower and less evenly.
No Sugar There is absolutely no good reason to add sugar to prosphora. It often over-excites the yeast and froths the dough. Not only that, but the sugar in the crust of the bread crystallizes, causing a flinty texture which your priest won’t appreciate when doing proskomedia.
No Whole Wheat Flour
Some people think that whole wheat flour is somehow more natural and therefore more appropriate for prosphora. Nothing can be further from the truth, and whole wheat flour should be avoided unless there is no other option.
First, whole wheat flour was never used in the early Church. White flour was always used, since it was more expensive that the brown variety and the loaf was quite literally a sacrifice for those who provided it.
Second, whole wheat flour is merely the same grain as the white, except with the outer shell ground in with the kernel. While this has some nutritional value, you would have to eat a LOT of antidoron to get any value from it!
Third, whole wheat flour is harder to work with. It takes longer to rise and creates less regular bubbling.
Fourth, whole wheat flour makes a harder crust.