Chrsitopsomos is an enriched dough that includes spices, dried fruits, honey, almond extract, orange zest and an orange honey glaze that gives it both a great shine and added flavor. When making the loaf, one third of the dough was reserved in order to add a decorative piece to the outside. Before the piece was added the bread looked like this:
Then afterward (reminiscent of another Greek favorite: octopus):
Once the bread came out of the oven the glaze was brushed on and sprinkled with sesame seeds to create a truly impressive looking bread!
I made the bread a couple of days before the Thanksgiving celebration because I was also going to be making a cheesecake and knew that that was going to be labor intensive as well. For two days I walked into my apartment smelling the amazing scent of orange and honey with the undertones of fresh baked bread every time I opened my door. It was really hard to resist! Alas, my will to please my friends overcame my desire for instant gratification and the loaf made it to the table in one piece.
The texture was great, with a soft outside and light, springy inside speckled with chewy dried raisins and dried cranberries. On the orange-honey glaze made for good finger-licking, especially with the sesame seeds sticking to the fingers here and there as well. Everyone really loved the bread, and now I have a Christmas treat that I hope to make again either this year or next!
