Tzatziki is a typical starter of the Greek cuisine, it is very tasty, healthful and suitable to be served with different dishes. Tztatziki originates in the time of ancient Greece when people, during the hottest days when the sun burned the bare hills full of their fascinating scent, used to mix yogurt, garlic, water and bread. Today everyone can enjoy a little Greece by preparing tztatziki at home and eat alone, spread on the bread, as proposed here, or as a side dish for meat, fish or salads. The benefits of raw garlic are together with the refreshing properties of the cucumber. The homemade bread is prepared with durum wheat flour and with a long rising process by starting from sourdough, for that people who have it, or, alternatively, brewer’s yeast.
Ingredients for tzatziki
2 cups of thick yogurt
1 cucumber
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
vinegar
Ingredients for the preparation of durum wheat bread in 2 steps
Step 1
if you have sourdough
50 g of solid sourdough
100 g of durum wheat flour
150 g of water
Step 1
if you have brewer’s yeast
5 g of fresh brewer’s yeast
125 of durum wheat flour
175 g of water
Step 2
Ingredients to prepare the bread
350 g of durum wheat flour
200 g of water
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of ground sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
In the evening start preparing the bread.
Step 1
If you use the sourdough put it in a bowl with the water, leave for 30 minutes then add the flour. Let stand the whole night in a warm place. If you prefer the fresh brewer’s yeast dissolve it in a part of water, then pour it on the flour and add the rest of water. The dough will be left for a whole night in a warm place.
Step 2
The next morning, in a large bowl, dissolve the dough obtained in step 1 in 200 g of water, add two tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of honey. Add now half of the flour and mix. Pour the rest of the flour until you’ll obtain a soft dough. Add then the salt. Knead the dough for 10 - 15 minutes. Let stand the dough for 9 or 10 hours in a bowl covered by a cloth in the fridge. Then, take the dough from the fridge and let stand for an hour, put it on a pan and give to it the shape you like. Cut diagonal slits on the surface and bake at 200° for 14 minutes, then lower the temperature at 180° and keep on baking the bread for 28-30 minutes, the temperatures are for the fan oven.
Tztatziki
Chop the garlic, grate coarsely the cucumber and squeeze it in order to remove the water. In a bowl pour the yogurt, the cucumber, the garlic, two tablespoons of oil and a teaspoon of vinegar. Stir with a spoon and add salt and pepper as you like. Serve this delicious deep with your homemade bread and décor tzatziki with black olives and dill.
