Eptazymo Paximadia, Les sept vies du pain / The 7 Lives of Bread, Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, The Rambling Epicure
Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, author and editor of the Dictionnaire Universel du Pain.
Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, author and editor of the Dictionnaire Universel du Pain.
Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, author and editor of the Dictionnaire Universel du Pain.
Jonell Galloway
The Rambling Epicure is a daily international food chronicle, and the first online newspaper to follow global food trends and news.
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Hello! I was just reading about this bread yesterday and discussing it with my guy who is from Crete. This is a really difficult but really yummy bread to make and its main ingredient is chickpea flour.
Many people (me included up to yesterday) think that Eftazymo comes from the Greek words Efta (=seven) and zymi (dough), meaning something that has been kneaded or risen seven times. Apparently that’s not the case – even though mothers and grandmothers insist it is
In Crete it’s called ftazymo – and this is thought to be an alteration of the word aftozymo (i.e. auto-dough). This is because it is baked without sourdough (which would be the normal way in times past) and the chickpea flour helps it to rise. It seems as if it rises on its own accord, automatically, hence ftazymo – eftazymo.
Cursed or not it remains one of the best Greek breads ever!
How interesting. You could be a bread historian!
Jean-Philippe says:
ça y est tu es plus savante que moi en pain. oui intéressant. j’ai pourtant rencontrée des femmes en Grèce qui expliquait qu’elle procédaient ainsi se levant sept fois ou agissant sept fois et dans la mesure où ces femmes le font il faut nécessairement que eptazymo véhicule aussi cette pratique-là. mais, comme on sait, le problème des traditions egt de leur authenticité est un rivière avec tous ses méandres. Would you like me to translate it for you? Check out his wonderful Dictionnaire Universel du Pain pubished in French at Laffont Bouquins.