File:Breadbasket of Europe (52017973486).jpg

Ukraine has long been called the “Breadbasket of Europe”. That inspired this image, but more than that, the journey to create it. The bread is shaped in the exact form of the Ukrainian Coat of Arms ( <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ukraine" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ukraine</a> ). And you can make one, too.

I worked closely with Ian McKinnell ( <a href="http://www.ianmckinnell.com" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.ianmckinnell.com</a> ) who originally modelled some of my snowflakes for 3D printing a number of years ago. Together with his aptitude for such technical work, we were able to design a giant “cookie cutter” for flatbread dough. We are jointly releasing the model under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International, meaning anyone can use it (including commercially), modify it, do whatever they want with it so long as any derivative works fall under the same license.

You can download the 3D model for printing here: <a href="https://donkom.ca/trident-bread/ukrainian-trident-dough-cutter.STL" rel="noreferrer nofollow">donkom.ca/trident-bread/ukrainian-trident-dough-cutter.STL</a>

And you can upload it to websites like <a href="https://i.materialise.com" rel="noreferrer nofollow">i.materialise.com</a> . Unfortunately at the full 100% scale measuring just under 30cm / 11.5”, the model is VERY expensive, even after revisions to cut down on material / cost. It would be great if someone out there with access to injection molding equipment could take this on as a pro-bono project, or even as cast aluminum. Or make them and sell them!

If you are own a pizzeria or restaurant, offer up trident cheese bread to your customers and donate all proceeds to support Ukrainian refugee relief efforts. I plan on making these for gatherings, but I’ll also be donating a great number of these breads to the relief effort. I know it’s just bread, but symbolism is important. There are more ways to help than to just go shopping for these folks.

My main recipe uses a 2-hour pizza dough as a base and should make roughly three tridents: -560g of Type 00 flour (pizza flour) -300ml lukewarm water -50ml olive oil -10g sea salt -7g (sachet) of dried yeast. Mix the yeast with the water, let sit 5-10 minutes. Add oil. Add the flour and the salt to a mixing bowl and pour the liquid over. Mix all ingredients together, kneading dough for 10-15 minutes. Let rest for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

Roll it out flat, and fairly thin like a pizza crust. The thinner dough will work better to keep it’s shape in the form of the trident. Place the rolled dough in the baking dish before cutting it. This is critical, as you will not be able to move it once cut. Rub the edges of the cutter with extra flour to prevent it from sticking to the dough, and press firmly down. While still pressing down, use your free hand to pull away all of the dough outside of the form. You need to keep pressing, otherwise you’ll be pulling at dough inside the form.

Some dough is tricky to remove, like that which resides inside the trident tines and in the holes. These can be separated using a bread knife after the cutter has been placed aside.

Add toppings. Choose whatever you like. I’ve been making them with grated cheese, flax seeds, and black cumin.

Place in oven on high heat until the cheese starts to become golden. The bread itself shouldn’t take long to cook, but you know your oven better than I do – I’m using a wood-fired oven that cooks differently with extra heat from the floor of the oven.

The Ukrainian forces are about to start one of the biggest and likely bloodiest battles of this war in the Donbas region. I hope this bread serves as a symbol to boost their spirits and the spirits of everyone that cares about them. In addition to writing to your politicians and donating money, there’s always more you can do. Trident bread for all!

(and I did briefly think that there could be negative symbolism because one must break the symbol into pieces to eat it. I’ve been doing that whole life with Canada’s Maple Leaf and I don’t feel bad about it. Stay positive).