The “Gibassier” is part of the famous thirteen Christmas desserts in Provence. Very often confused with the “pompe à l”huile“, it is harder and its texture quite crusty. It is very easy to make and keeps several days. No waste guaranteed! All you need is a lot of excellent quality olive oil!

To prepare THE DAY BEFORE or SEVERAL DAYS IN ADVANCE.

Ingredients

For 2 large breads or 5 small / individual – Serves 5/6

• 500 g white flour
• 80 ml lukewarm water
• 20g fresh yeast
• 180 ml olive oil
• 180 g caster sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 eggwhite
• Zests of an orange and a lemon (optional)
• 1 teaspoon aniseed (optional)
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom (optional)

How to make the gibassier

The day before, prepare the “starter”. For this gentky blend together the yeast and lukewarm water. Add 100g of flour and keep in a warm place for it to rise for one or two hours.
Mix the oilive oil with sugar. Add the starter and all the other ingredients except the eggwhite. Work the dough for at least 15 minutes. You can of course use your bread machine or food processor for this. After that, add the eggwhite, cover with a clean cloth and store in the fridge until the day after. This will allow the yeast to develop ore flavours.

The day after, cut the dough into two pieces (or more, depending on the shapes & sizes you would like to make). Roll each piece until it is 1cm thick, just like you would do for a “fougasse”. Store in a warm place, away from any air stream, for 30 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven, at 180°C, in fan-assisted mode, for 30 minutes. It must slightly burn and get harder and drier.

You can keep the gobassier several days, wrapped in paper.