Tiropsono: Greek Cheese Bread

 This morning I made Tiropsomo.  It is a Greek cheese bread, made with feta cheese.  It turned out so well!  There are two different ways you can make it: the lazy way and the traditional way.  

Recipe:

1 cup lukewarm water

2 teaspoons yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

scant 1/3 cup olive oil

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour, added a little at a time

Feta cheese - about 2 cups, give or take

Oregano - optional

Start by putting 1 cup of lukewarm water into a mixing bowl.  Add two teaspoons of yeast and one and a half teaspoons of sugar.  Mix slightly and let this sit for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble.  

The add 3/4 cup of lukewarm milk.  I heated mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds to take the chill out of the milk.  Then add one and a half teaspoons of salt and a scant 1/3 cup of olive oil.  Mix slightly.

Add flour, one cup at a time for the first three cups of flour.  It is not smart to add all your flour at once.  You can always add more flour if you need to, but once the flour is already added, you can't take it out.  After you add the first three cups, add in just a little bit of flour at a time until your dough feels like it is the right consistency.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.  It is better to have it be a little sticky and add flour later than to make it too dry.  I used a total of about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour for my bread dough.  This amount will vary depending on the type of flour you use.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  Let it rise for about an hour, or until doubled.

In the video, I demonstrate two different ways to make Tiropsomo.  There is the lazy way and the traditional way.  If you make it the lazy way, you just mix a little bit of olive oil, a little oregano and some feta cheese into your dough and fold it or mix it in.  Then grease a round, oven safe pan/dish and place parchment paper on the bottom of the pan.   Put your dough into the pan and press it down.  Cover it with plastic wrap and a towel and let it rise for about 30 minutes.  I usually preheat my oven a few minutes before it is done rising.  Take off the plastic wrap and the towel and bake the bread at 375 degrees for 22-30 minutes, depending on how hot your oven cooks, or until it is lightly brown on top.  Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool before eating.

The traditional way is a little different.  First, cover a cookie sheet or pie pan with parchment paper.  Put some olive oil on your hard surface and your rolling pin so the dough won't stick or become to dry like it might if you were to use flour instead.  Roll the dough out into a circle.  Place crumbled feta cheese all over the surface, except for about an inch around the whole edge of the circle.  Bring the sides together in the middle and press them together.  Flip the dough over onto your cookie sheet/pan that already has parchment paper on it.  Cover the dough with a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.   I usually preheat my oven the last 10 minutes of the rising time of the bread. Take off the plastic wrap and bake the bread at 400 degrees for about 20-26 minutes, depending on how hot your oven bakes, or until the bread is nicely brown.  Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool.  Enjoy!  This bread really tastes great, and you will be glad you took the time to make it.  I can promise you that!