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During one of my trips, I passed through the beautiful Georgioupoli in Chania. The strong smell of bread that ΄hit my nose΄ on the main street led me to a very old wood-fired oven, preserved and one of the largest I have personally encountered. Its diameter inside is 4 meters deep!!! Incredibly big!! This wood-fired oven dates back to 1935 and was purchased by Manousos Fountoulakis in 1948, where he made traditional sourdough bread and gave it to all the surrounding areas. Although each house had its own wood-fired oven back then, Mr. Manousos, with passion and love, continued to make the wonderful bread that everyone in the area came to love. In 1960, his sons took over and continued the same traditional recipe with hand-kneading, slow rising in the oven. The appetite and persistence combined with tradition made the bread so famous in Crete - but also beyond - where these wonderful, golden, musky, crusty breads came by order even to Athens.
From 2006 until today, Manolis Fountoulakis continues the tradition until today, with fresh, slow-rising bread, rising daily at 5 am, kneading in the mixer 500 kg of bread, with flour from wheat-barley, etc., and putting it in the oven for 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours. The bread-making process takes 4 hours. The old oven, from the old days until today, is cleaned with a 'panistro' (a kind of cloth bag used to store olives) and with the two-kilogram breads traveling throughout Crete, but also throughout Greece, since the wonderful 'karvelaki' (bread loaves) are known. He is also known for his carob flour biscuits, but also for his plain, warm, musky olive bread, as well as raisin bread, olive oil rolls with cinnamon, and many other traditional bread delicacies!!
I would like to thank Mr. Fountoulakis for his willingness and time he offered me in providing detailed information.
