Agritourism

Come and see with us how to make the bread in the traditional wood oven. From preparation to a rich traditional dinner.

In Crete traditionaly in every home, in every village there was a traditional wood oven, where the housewives could bake pies, meals and homemade bread. Old wood ovens were made from mud and stones. The cost was very small and personal labor was mainly needed for its construction. Nowadays traditional ovens are made with modern materials such as bricks and cement. After it's construction, the wood oven should be burned for the first time at high temperatures. This means that for almost 48h, the oven should burn wood constantly, to reach a temperature of up to 900 degrees Celsius. It is said that if you throw a glass bottle inside and you see it melting, then it is ready to use for baking!

Baked bread

The housewife who wants to make homemade bread, must first of all to knead. But to knead you need grow the leaven from the previous evening. The leaven is the basis of bread and according to Greek tradition and religion must be prepared in a sacred day of Greek family, such as Christmas Eve and New Year or Wednesday of Easter. The housewife throws in a pot, hot water and adds the appropriate quantity of flour and the leaven from the previous kneading. When materials are thoroughly kneaded, the resulting mass is placed overnight in a warm place to ferment. Next comes the kneading. Kneading starts in early morning, dissolving the yeast in water, adding salt and flour and stir. The initial fermentation is done with little water. Afterwards water is added little by little and completes the kneading. Puts the dough in pans and puts them at a warm place, covering them with appropriate clothing to ensure proper temperature so the dough can rise (inflate).
Please note that the type of bread depends on the flour used e.g flour from rye, oats, corn, wheat, barley. After the dough has risen it is ready for baking in our oven!
After we preheat the oven ( we have the appropriate temperature when the inside wall of our oven take a white color). An empirical way to qualify the temperature is to put a spoon with flour inside, if the oven has the temperature we need, the flour will get a nice yellow color. Then the charcoals and wood should be removed and the oven floor must be cleared from remaining ashes. The pans are placed in the oven and in about two hours the bread is ready. If the dough had not been put into pans, it could be baked directly in the oven floor (loaves).

Come and try the famous Cretan raki!

Visitors of Evgoro Luxury Suites have the chance during Autumn, to visit traditional distilleries in our region and taste fresh raki and appetizers: grilled potatoes, wild mushrooms, chestnuts, traditional pies, and greens, and other typical seasonal products.