Church Offering Bread (Prosphoron) from Mount Athos
The Offertory or Liturgy is the bread that is offered in the Eucharist, so that it is sanctified and transformed into the Body of our Lord. The preparation of offerings in the homes is done with faith, reverence and enthusiasm. Before fermenting the offering, we first light our candle and incense the space. The only thing that breaks the prevailing silence is our prayers that are said at the time of kneading. In monasteries, the production of offerings is entrusted as a deacon to a certain monk, the offering. On Mount Athos, while the offerings are being prepared, a candle is constantly burning in the shrine of the offering, next to the icon of the Virgin Mary and the Saint of the monastery. The candle is lit until the tenders come out of the oven. At the time of the kneading, the apolytypic of Agios Tychonos the Miraculous Bishop is chanted at the same time. The priest comes, burns incense, reads the special wish and as long as the kneading lasts, the Greetings of Virgin Mary are recited.
See below how the blessed offerings are made on Mount Athos. Follow the monastic recipe step by step, with all the secrets and make successful sourdough offerings.
Find here Holy Bread Prosphora Seals from Mount Athos.
In the evening, we put the sourdough in a container and "feed" it with a little warm water and a little flour so that it becomes a porridge.
We cover the dish with a towel and leave it in a warm place to rise.
The next day, we sift the flour, pour it into a basin, create a puddle in the center and pour in the "fed" leaven.
We dissolve the salt in a little warm water and add it to the basin.
We add as much warm water as needed to knead for 20 minutes to get firm dough.
We cover the dough with a clean towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.
We knead for another 10 minutes and let the dough rest covered for another 10 minutes.
Finally, we knead again for another 20 minutes.
We form two balls with the dough and place one on top of the other.
We press hard with the stamp on the surface of the upper ball and the offering bread is ready.
We repeat until the dough is finished.
We transfer the dough ball to a floured tray, we cover them with a towel and leave them in a warm place to rise.
With a needle, we pierce the holes in the 4 corners of the stamp and in the middle, without the needle reaching the bottom.
We bake at a high temperature for about 45 minutes.
We have to knead the dough very well so that there is no trapped air in it because the air will try to come up during baking and will break the seal.
Also, the dough must come out firm so that the seal is well imprinted and not be erased while the dough "rises" during baking.
