This sourdough prosphora recipe is for making traditionally leavened Orthodox Christian communion bread. If you would like to learn more about Prosphora and this tradition, check out this website. This recipe was originally posted on another site (Engage Orthodoxy) but has recently been moved to my personal blog, so if it looks familar to you, that’s why!
As an avid sourdough baker and enthusiast, the moment I found out my parish needed Prosphora bakers, I knew what I had to do. Sourdough has long been the traditional method for leavening bread, but many modern bakers have lost this tradition for the convenience of modern industrialized yeast. Because of this, it was difficult for me to find sourdough prosphora recipes online that worked, so of course I had to make my own. Below, you will find the recipe and method I have developed over the course of years of trial and error. Please feel free to comment any questions or other concerns as you read and try out the recipe.
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Jump to RecipePLEASE READ THESE NOTES BEFORE CONTINUING
How to use this sourdough prosphora recipe
Be sure to read this entire recipe and method before starting to bake, regardless of if you are new to either sourdough or prosphora baking!
A note on starter
Be sure your starter is active and bubbly before getting started! You can check out this blog on how to achieve this, or this youtube video!
Can I freeze sourdough prosphora?
Yes, you can freeze sourdough prosphora! Freezing loaves in freezer safe bags is a great way to make loaves ahead of time for week day liturgies or as a backup in case prosphora made the same day doesn’t turn out.
Where to buy a prosphora seal
Many parishes will own a few seals that they allow the faithful to use to bake prosphora. If this is not the case for you, or you would like to own your own, you can purchase one online. I will link a few options below, but remember to only buy wooden seals, not plastic ones! We never want plastic to touch the Holy Things so we use natural materials when possible.
The natural ingredients of the Holy Things
Keeping our prosphora as natural as possible is the goal. These loaves are our offering to God and we would never want to offer something to Him that contains chemicals, microplastics, or genetically modified ingredients. We are offering back what He has blessed us with: flour, water, and salt, so we should keep these ingredients as pure and natural as possible.
A note on ingredients
Three simple ingredients are all you need for sourdough prosphora: water, flour, salt. The starter is a combination of water and flour, so I don’t think it counts as a fourth ingredient, especially because the three ingredients symbolize the trinity.
Starter: be sure to use an active, bubbly starter (see note above)
Flour: Always use unbleached, organic, all-purpose (or bread flour) to make sourdough prosphora. I say this because the pesticides in non-organic flour can damage the fermentation of your starter and we also don’t want chemicals in the bread that will become the Body of Christ.
Salt: I use natural mineral salt that does not contain microplastics.
Water: At the risk of sounding redundant, I always use filtered water that doesn’t contain chemicals, microplastics, or pharmaceuticals. We never want the Holy Things to include harmful chemicals or compounds, so it is essential to use properly filtered water.
Supplies for sourdough prosphora
- Bowl with lid for mixing and fermenting
- Prosphora seal
- Springform pan– 9 inch and stainless steel is perferable
- Unbleached Baking paper
- Cooling rack
- Clean Tea towels
Ingredients for sourdough prosphora
- Organic, All purpose, unbleached bread flour
- Active sourdough starter
- Filtered water
- A high quality mineral salt
Variations on size
The following recipe provides 2 large (Byzantine style) loaves for my parish of about 60-70 attendees. There is usually a little bit leftover after the dismissal is done. If you need more, you can increase the recipe by 50%. I will often decrease the recipe by 25% to make single loaves for weekday liturgies where there are fewer people in attendance.
Slavic vs Byzantine loaves
I attend a Byzantine rite parish, so I follow the tradition of larger loaves with a larger, more ornate seal. If you attend a Slavic rite church, the prosphora will be smaller and the seal will be a simpler design. You can easily use these sourdough prosphora ratios and methods to make the dough, but shape smaller loaves in the Slavic style. Ultimately, always ask your priest and the current prosphora bakers at your parish for which traditions you need to follow. And of course, be sure to receive a blessing from your priest before you begin baking prosphora.
Praying before you bake
I always offer the following prayers before making the offering of my time, ingredients, talent, and eventually the prosphora itself. You will find this to be a peaceful way to begin your baking. I also include a prayer to say after you are finished baking. You do not need to stand at your icon corner to say these prayers. In fact, I find it most meaningful to stand in my kitchen with all the sourdough prosphora ingredients laid out, facing my kitchen icons. You can also bring a candle and icon of Christ into your kitchen before you start praying and baking.
TRISAGION PRAYERS
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things; Treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life – come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
BEFORE STARTING
I thank you Lord, for this holy moment where you have counted me worthy to knead with my sinful hands the all-immaculate Gifts of Your love.
I plead with You to send down your All Holy Spirit, Who blesses all the mysteries of the Church, to also bless these gifts so that they become good and acceptable before Your Holy Altar.
And I ask that You accept them as You accepted Abel’s sacrifice, the glorification of the shepherds, the gifts of the Magi, the tears of Peter and the thief’s repentance.
And make me worthy to always offer them to You with a good conscience. Amen.
AND
“Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen. Glory to you, our God, glory to you.
O God, whose only-begotten Son has said, “Without Me you can do nothing” my Lord and my God, in faith I bend the knees of my soul before Your Fatherly goodness and I raise my hands to You : help me, a sinner to do this work in conformity with Your will.
Send down your Holy Spirit to guide me in making these prosphora, that they may be worthy of the use for which they are intended.
CLOSING PRAYER AFTER BAKING
O God, our God, You sent the heavenly Bread, the food for the whole world, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, as Saviour, Redeemer and Benefactor to bless us and sanctify us. Do bless this offering and accept it upon Your heavenly altar.
As a good and loving God, remember those who brought it and those for whom it was brought.
Keep us blameless in the celebration of Your divine Mysteries.
For sanctified and glorified is Your most honorable and majestic name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sourdough Prosphora Recipe
Ingredients
- 660 g water
- 1,260 g flour
- 400 g starter
- 27 g salt
Instructions
- Mix water, salt, and starter in a large bowl
- Add flour and mix until the dough is somewhat hydrated
- Allow the dough to ferment at room temperature for 8-10 hours
- Turn out the dough onto a clean un-floured work surface
- Divide and preshape into two tight balls (don’t be afraid to manipulate the dough here)
- Rest for 10-20 minutes
- Line springform pans with baking paper (be sure the paper covers the sides too)
- Coat all sides of the loaves with a thin layer of flour
- Press the loaves into a flat disk using your palm and rotating
- You can stop when the disk is about 1 inch tall (but this also depends on the size of your spring form pans)
- Place the disks into the paper lined pans
- Press each disk down again until it is flat and the edges of the disk are about to reach the sides of the springform pan, popping any air bubbles when necessary
- Cover the springform pans and place in the fridge for 3-6 hours
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F
- Meanwhile, remove the loaves from the fridge and dust more flour over the tops of the disks to make sure the seal does not stick
- Press the dough disk down evenly again until the edges touch the sides of the pan
- Press your wooden seal into the center of the disk and push down with strength. You want the edges of the disk to push up around the seal and the seal to be pretty deep into the disk
- Do not just pull out the seal! Gently loosen all the edges of the seal first to release it from the dough. I do this by gently tugging on the handle as I angle each side of the seal up in turn. It should start to loosen and then you can carefully and slowly pull the seal up from the dough
- Next, use a chopstick or metal skewer to pierce your dough. For a byzantine style loaf, this means piercing outside the corners of the center square and outside the outer circle where the eight lines end. Check out the pictures attached to see exactly what this looks like, the final result will have 12 piercings.
- As you pierce you can say “Lord Have Mercy” or “Most Holy Theotokos Save Us”, one per each piercing.
- Bake both loaves uncovered at the same time for one hour
- When the loaves are done, release them from the springform pan (using hot hands!) and wrap them in damp tea towels to dry on the cooling rack for 2-8 hours. This will keep the crust soft and pliable for the priest to cut
NOTES AND TIPS
Preventing damage to the seal
It’s very important to maintain a clear and undamaged seal for the priest to use the prosphora. My best tips for this are:
- Always press the dough down really well into a firm disk leaving no air bubbles
- Pierce the dough really well (see step 18 above) to keep it from rising too much and cracking
- Keep an eye on your dough for the first 30 minutes of baking. If my prosphora is starting to rise too much and it looks like the seal might begin to crack, I will quickly score the side of the loaf (to the side of the seal) to release some gas and preventing a blow out
How to prepare and clean the seal and pans
I line all of my springform pans with unbleached baking paper before placing the sourdough prosphora dough in them. Some people like to use a waxing technique instead, where they coat the pans with a small amount of melted beeswax. I have done this and it works great. You do not need to wash the seal unless it gets dough on it. This should not happen, however, if you are flouring your dough well. I don’t regularly wash my pans either unless they get dough or bread baked on.
Sample Baker’s Schedule for Sourdough Prosphora
Friday Night:
- 8 pm: mix dough and let rest overnight
Saturday Morning:
- Divide and shape the dough
- Refrigerate for 4-8 hours
Saturday Afternoon/evening
- Stamp, pierce, and bake sourdough prosphora
- Bake
- Afterwards, wrap in damp tea towels and rest
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