Traditional Cretan Village Bakery Class and Tour

Traditional Cretan Village Bakery Class and Tour

Visit the traditional village of Vatos in Crete and enjoy your day learning the art of baking bread, spend some time among the village residents and satisfy your appetite with a home made lunch at Vangelios house in the heart of the village. Experience the traditional Cretan art of baking, the culture, the Greek way of life.

This activity is a combination of a traditional baking class and an experience of the village way of life. Here at Vatos Village, we equip our potential or experienced "bakers" with the tools that they need in order to create delicious village bread. We will focus on mastering the fundamentals as well as discussing traditional techniques as we practice making our bread on our stone mill and wood ovens. Your instructor and host is the best around: Talented and exceptionally passionate about the craft of baking, she is more than excited to to pass along her tips, recipe and enthusiasm.

The activity will begin with your pickup from your selected location and you will be driven to Vatos Village, where you will arrive at approx. 10:15am. You will be taken to the house of Eleftheria (our host), who will greet you with a traditional treet and make you feel welcomed and part of her family. We will then be taken to a specially arranged cooking spot in order to start our baking lesson, and specifically with the kneading of the bread dough, an approximately 1-hour process. When we have finished, the dough is left to rest for approx. 45', during which time our village tour takes place. We get to see the Village school, the traditional village water faucets, the raki cauldron and "Grandma's" traditional kitchen. By the time we return, it will be time to continue with our baking lesson and to shape the bread into its final form. This step takes approx. 1,5 hours and when we are done, the bread in left in the oven for approx. 45 minutes.   

When the baking process comes to an end (at approx. 14:00hrs), we will head towards Vangelio's house where its owner will invite you into its premises and create a unique family atmosphere. You will first taste your freshly baked bread and enjoy the outcome of your lesson. Vangelio will also teach you about Cretan culture and history, share stories about her family’s life and make you feel just as if you are visiting close relatives or friends. Lunch will be served with all the dishes made of genuine pure Cretan products such as olive oil, vegetables, cheese, meat, wine…and of course all the ingredients are fresh and local. The experience will come to an end at approx. 16:00hrs, when you will be driven back to your original starting point.