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Kritika paximadia
Kritika paximadia: twice-baked Cretan barley rusks for dakos, salads and long keeping
Every Cretan bakery stacks bags of dark, rock-hard paximadia, and every Cretan home keeps a tin: barley bread baked once, sliced, then dried slowly until it will keep for months. Farmers carried them to the fields, and they are still the base for dakos, softened with a splash of water and piled with grated tomato and soft cheese, or broken into salads and dunked into coffee. They taste nutty and faintly sweet, with a crunch that softens to chewiness when moistened. Common mistake: drying them too hot, which browns the outside while the centre stays soft and goes mouldy in the tin. Chef's tip: dry the slices at the lowest oven setting with the door slightly ajar; they are ready when one snaps cleanly and sounds hollow.
- Total time
- 255 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb barley flour, 9 oz strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp aniseed if using. Dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in 2 cups warm water, add with ¼ cup olive oil and mix to a sticky dough.
Step 2: Knead for 10 minutes with oiled hands. Barley dough never gets as stretchy as wheat dough; it is ready when it feels smooth and slightly tacky.
10 minStep 3: Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1–1½ hours, until clearly puffed though not quite doubled.
75 minStep 4: Divide into 2 and shape each into a log about 30 cm long. Lay on a lined tray and score deep lines across the top every 2.5 cm, almost to the bottom. Rise for 40 minutes.
40 minStep 5: Bake at 400°F (350°F fan) for 40–45 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow underneath.
45 minStep 6: Cool for 20 minutes, then cut through along the scored lines with a serrated knife.
20 minStep 7: Lay the slices on racks and dry at 90–200°F (fan off if possible) for 3 hours, until completely dry and hard right through. Cool fully before storing.
180 minStep 8: Keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 months. To eat, sprinkle with water or dip quickly in water and leave for 2 minutes to soften.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 205 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 37 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kritika paximadia take?
- About 255 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 225 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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