Opa! Greek Celebration Bread

You'll notice right away that I didn't follow Reinhart's instructions on shaping, so I'm going to cut to the chase and confess: I failed to measure the length of my ropes (I was going to make the 3-strand braid), and the braid ended up longer than the cookie sheet. Not wanting to undo the braid (well, it was pretty), I wrapped it around itself into a boule-like mound. I was nervous about not supplying the loaf with enough surface tension to allow it to rise appropriately, but it did rise: gloriously brown and braided, like a woven basket. This flexibility is a testament to Reinhart's recipe, which produces a silky dough with a generosity of movement and tackiness that allows for all kinds of baker manipulations.

I had fun making this bread and it's debut at dinner last night was a success. The house still smells wonderfully of lemons, almonds and cinnamon--three of my favorite tastes in the world--and my stomach is already growling for a clove-crumbed breakfast treat. The Greek bread reminds me a lot of the sugar-laced cardamom bread that my parents love, and I imagine that if you did the glaze, the mouthful of slightly crunchy sugar spice crumb would be virtually identical.

Being me, this bread was not without its gaffs, above and beyond the shaping. Above is the poolish, after a few days in the fridge. I misread the instructions and thought it had to ferment for 3-4 days rather than 3-4 hours, but it seemed happy enough sitting, sponge-like, in the fridge, nestled between the cheeses and the radishes (the things Tom lives with). I found that the recipe made a lot of extra poolish, and froze it for later uses. In the future I might make two loaves, or plan on making a ciabatta as well. I have to admit that I get an odd, sci-fi pleasure from things like poolishes and bigas and other starters. They take on odd lives of their own, growing, burping and requiring regular feedings. I can't wait for the section on natural starters.

The best part of all (other than the taste)? This passed the windowpane test!

While I tired of the anadama bread pretty quickly, I will make this bread again and again. This is a winner! --Rhianna