Macedonian Prosforo (Πρόσφορο Μακεδονίας)

Macedonian prosforo is the Orthodox offering bread of the northern Greek home: round, plain, and firm enough to hold the seal of IC XC NIKA, Jesus Christ conquers. It is not sweet bread and it is not Sunday table bread. It belongs to the liturgy, which is why the dough stays simple: flour, water, salt, and prozymi.

The method that decides it is the firmness of the dough. Make it too soft and the seal swells and blurs in the oven. Make it tight, knead it well, and press the sphragida, the holy seal, deeply and evenly. Then the loaf rises with its face still readable.

I like this Thessaloniki version because it is honest. No oil, no sugar, no decoration trying to be pious. Your grandmother cooked by eye because she'd made it a thousand times. Here are the numbers until you have.