Cretan Dakos
Jun 20th, 2008 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Appetizer, Baking, Bread, Cretan, Greek, Herbs, How To, Meze, Olive Oil, Snacks
Greece is a small country geographically. It’s northernmost borders abut Albania, FYROM, Bulgaria and Turkey and the rest of the country is surrounded by sea.
This makes Greece a peninsula but one cannot forget the hundreds of islands that dot the Mediterranean and host as Europes’s playground each summer.
Greece’s largest island is Crete (South of the mainland). If you ask any Greek, they will tell you Crete is a “must see” island.
Cretans are an independant bunch, leaders rather than followers and if one took a look at their lifestyle, you’d think their motto would be ” why fix something that’s not broken”. This is certainly true of the Cretan Diet.
Although most Greeks eat much of the same foods on a daily basis, Cretans are steeped in the old ways…buying and consuming locally sourced produce, meats and other goods that arrive on the kitchen table. The Cretans are blessed with still being able to live off the bounty of their land.
Here are the basics of the Cretan Diet:
- Eat local and eat seasonally.
- Incorporate as much wild greens into your daily diet as possible.
- Eat a moderate amount of dairy and milk products.
- Limit the consumption of meat to once or twice a week.
- Eat a moderate amount of seafood.
- Olive oil is the principle fat in the diet.
- An abundance of local and seasonal fruits and vegetables are consumed.
I have not been to Crete (yet) but I will go, perhaps next year. It’s a big island and I believe that a two week tour of the island will do it justice and give me a good taste of what I like of the island. That way, I can pinpoint where to visit on Crete during future visits.
For a few months now, I’ve been getting a daily glimpse into Cretan life through the eyes and words of Maria of Organically Cooked. Maria is an ex-pat New Zealander of Greek extraction who now lives permanantly in Crete with her husband and children.
Maria writes in depth accounts of Cretan life, diet, recipes, traditions and the struggle of an ancient society trying to buck the changing world around them. It’s an uphill battle but Cretans are strong – they will prevail.
One of Crete’s most popular gifts to Greek cuisine is the Cretan Dakos. Dakos are a twice baked rusk made of whole wheat or barley flour and bread has always been an important part of Cretan and Greek diets.
Dakos or Paximadi have been known in Crete since the Middle Ages. These rusk-like rolls are shaped into rings and baked once before being sliced in two and dried slowly in a cooling oven.
After searching on the ‘net for a Dakos recipe…all I would come up with are instructions with how to dress a Dako…DUH!
This recipe is from a chef named Ioannis Lappas. Three types of flour are used here: regular all-purpose, whole-wheat and barley.
If you’re wondering where to find barley flour, check out a health food store or a bulk food store (that’s where I found mine).
Dakos are Greece’s own Bruschetta. When preparing a Dakos, be generous with the extra-virgin olive oil and allow a couple of moments for them to become thouroughly impregnated. Not only does it provide the bread with a great taste but it prevents the juices of the tomatoes from making the bread soggy (crunchy is good here).
Finally, although most Cretans wouldn’t do this, I recommend mincing some garlic into the grated tomatoes or brushing the Dakos with a clove of garlic to impart some flavour.
Cretan Dakos (baking)
(makes 48 halves)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup barley flour
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
some warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups of warm water
Pre-heated 400F oven
- In one bowl, add your yeast with some sugar and tepid water and allow for the yeast to activate for a few minutes.
- In another bowl, add all three of your flours and salt and mix well.
- When your yeast is readyand active, add the olive oil to your yeast mixture and then make a well in the middle of your flour and add the yeast mixture into the flour and gradually add your warm water while drawing in more flour.
- Knead the mixture on a work surface that’s been treated with bench flour for about 5 minutes. The dough should be moist but not stick to the work surface (add flour as needed). Form into a ball then cover with plastic cling wrap and a tea towel and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes (room temperature).
- Divide into small balls and then roll each out into a long piece of dough, then form into a ring.
- Place each ring onto a oiled baking tray and cover. Allow the dough to rise (expand) for another hour or so.
- Place your tray in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes and bake in batches. When the bread is still warm but safe to handle, cut each ring into half and place back on the baking tray.
- Turn your oven off and place your trays of Dakos back in the oven for about 40 minutes to dry up in the oven’s residual heat.
- When the Dakos have returned to room temperature, you may dress your Cretan Dako.
Dressing Cretan Dakos
4 Cretan Dakos
Extra-virgin olive oil
clove of garlic
1 large very ripe, sweet tomato
crumbled feta cheese
dried Greek Oregano
- Take a clove of garlic and use it to scrape on the Dako to impart the garlic flavour on the bread.
- Now generously drizzle extra-virgin olive oil onto each Dako and allow for the oil to soak in for a few minutes.
- Make a puree of fresh tomato using the side of your box grater with the largest holes and discard the skin.
- Spoon the tomato puree onto each Dako.
- Now top with crumbled Greek Feta and finish off with dried Greek oregano.
- Serve as an appetizer, meze or snack.
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© 2008, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
well done, Peter, now you’ve got the perfect summer snack food – we have these every night after swimming lessons – you are now an honorary cretan!
that looks fabulous – mmm – have to visit Crete!!
Nice work Peter! Looks good… and you were absolutely correct, this is Greece’s “bruschetta”! :)
These look really interesting and delicious! I’d love to visit Crete.
this is perfect for summer picnics on the beach! the more i am tempted to to go to Greece everytime I see those delicious greek recipes ala Peter :-)
We Italians have a version of this called taralli. The dough is made with white and wheat flour and some kind of wine or vermouth. We dress them with olive oil, garlic and tomatoes too. They were my Dad’s favorites. :)
Great take on a Cretan classic…lets hope they don’t come after you now that you added garlic…
Now those I could eat – along with everything else on your blog (good job I don’t live with you Peter or I’d be a hundred weight by now lol.
Must be too early for me; I read the bit where you say ‘An abundance of local and seasonal fruits’ as ‘An abundance of Alcohol’…….OMG I thought! Would be good tho?!
Those look delicious and interesting Peter! I wish you lived closer so you could make some for me. I am a hopeless yeast baker!
These look fabulous. The flavors are some of my favorite, and I, too, would add the garlic. I think I’d have trouble not eating some of the bread before putting it back in the oven for the second bake, though. So much for patience, right? ;)
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
I’ve never heard of these but they look awesome! I’m with Marie on this one–c’mon down to Florida so I can steal your leftovers!
These look absolutely delicious! I’ll definitely have to check out Organically Cooked, as well.
Interesting… they look like halved bagels. I’ll bet they were yummy.
Unrelated note… I thought of you yesterday when we had Greek take-out. Just a gyros salad, nothing that can compete with Kalofagas for sure!! Also- I was poking around at a Middle Eastern market the other day and discovered that they carried Haloumi (is that right?…the grilled cheese stuff?) Anyway, I was so excited because I had never seen it anywhere before and I remember seeing it on your blog. So we will be grilling that cheese on Sunday evening! Sorry for the ramble!!
Maria, thanks for the honour, do I get to do some “shooting practice” when down there?
Arundathi, even for Greeks..Crete is another world.
Sam, no offense to bruschetta but I’m sure Dakos has been around longer (Minoan evidence).
Susan, I think 2009 is the year for Crete.
Dhanngit, these are wonderful appetizers or snacks…healthy too!
Sticky, I’ve never heard of taralli – they sound yum!
Pete, I added the caveat, therefore I’ll escape any Cretan vendetta! ;)
Jan, no abundance of alcohol in the rules but everyone breaks rules…especially when it concerns booze!
Marie, I wished these had risen better but the next batch will be better!
Kelly, how did you know? I did sneak in a bite of the fresh baked Dakos.
Mike, is that an open invite? But then again…it’s damn hot down there right now.
Jen, you’ll really enjoy Maria’s blog.
Lori, these may look like bagels but taste far different. I’m sure you’ll love the Halloumi cheese.
These look wonderful as always… Dakos really are a great snack to have around, and according to the recipes I have for them they keep a good long time.
Greek food question: can you recommend an alternative to kefalotiri? I’m making kleftiko tomorrow night and can’t find the cheese anywhere here.
I’ve not heard of these tempting delights, but now I am obsessed by the idea of trying them. Thanks very much for sharing this with your readers.
Wow! So appetizing. I could go for one right now. I love hearing about other cultures too. It is exciting to know how many new interesting things there are out there.
Those almost look like bagels. They sound much more interesting though!
i agree w/ vicarious foodie… they really do look like bagels – maybe they are the original bagel? not to mention this whole thing reminds me of my favorite way to eat a bagel – topped with tomato and feta or cream cheese!
niiiiice.
Dakos look awesome! Ive visited Santorini, Athens, Mikonos, and Paros but I have never been to Crete… I hope to go someday!
Those dakos covered in tomato and feta look really tasty.
Fascinating post. I would LOVE to tour Greece someday and the island of Crete. Actually, I have a growing list of places to see and reading entries like this just pique my curiosity more and more.
I’m especially intrigued by the Mediterranean region and it sounds like Crete could become the poster island of sustainable agriculture.
Peter, Peter – You’ve been TAGGED! Take a look at my blog!
I think I would really like Greek Bruschetta. That looks wonderful!
This seriously looks like a NY flagel with incredible steroids. What a wonderful thing this is.
I learn so much on your blog. It’s an education, really! A lovely, tasty, education.
These look like Greek bagels to me — how cool! The topping looks delicious, too.
What a great new lesson here again…I never knew about a Cretan diet! These do look so awesome, fresh and colorful! It has everything that I love, especially the clove of garlic scraped on the Dako!!
this is food porn for me! :) the more garlic, the better!
In Puglia, the heel of Italy, you find exactly the same thing called Friselle and it is delicious! Maybe not so strange as there were and still are Greek colonies there!
Well done Peter! I love your love for a simple and old greek recipes.
Amazing! These look like so much fun! I am going to have to make them soon.
Very nice! Now you made me very hungry.
Great write-up on Crete, Peter! Thanks for bringing Dakos to the Web. This recipe is appealing on so many levels, as is the Cretan diet. Beautiful presentation with the olives in the middle. Thanks!
Peter you got me all excited! I’ve been thinking about Dakos for a long time now and I’ve also come up with a dressing for it. I was just wainting for a perfect Dakos recipe and I can now see my patience is paying off. Thanks so much for sharing! I cannot help but LOOOVE Greek food :D
I would love to visit Crete for a daily dose of Dakos Peter. If I can’t do that then here I come TO.
Jessica, you’re right…they do keep well for a long time but can will they last?
Lisa, it’s popular all over Greece.
Nicole, lots of gems to expose from the Greek kitchen.
Vicarious, yes they do but a different baking method.
Amy & Jonny, almost… hold the moyl, throw in a Greek and call them Dakos!
Lina, Crete deserves a 2 week visit…it’s big.
Kevin, I think I’ll have another one right now.
Sandie, Crete is definiitely a highlight of Greece.
Jan, Tagged? OUCH!
Judy, would you like me to bring you some?
Giz, all comparisons end with the look, these are delish.
Pam, thanks…I’m just opening up the door to real Greek food.
Lydia, wonderful snacks and offerings to guests.
White Rice Duo…of all the Greeks – Cretans live longest!
Flanboyant – I’m with ya…garrrlic!
Ilva, I’ve heard of the Pugliese and some villages still speaking with some Greek words. There are even tours from Greece with these towns as the focus.
Janulka, thanks…we have some simples gems like this to enjoy.
Eat, watch them vanish quickly.
Lisa, that’s my intention – eat Greek!
Angela, you’re very welcome…I hope you’ll try them out!
Lore, that sounds wonderful and I hope to see your result.
Val, the patio deck awaits you.
that sounds like a perfect diet. Those dakos looks like thin crispy bagels though I’m sure they are better for you
Very nice Peter I can almost taste them now.
That must have been lot’s of work Peter. Looks like I could feed a crowd with these.
They llok like light and airy bagels. My father spent some time in Crete long ago and its been a place on my to visit list.
I’m learning so much from your blog! Fabulous.
Peter, this recipe has my mouth watering!! I love it and the beautiful fresh toppings! Brill!
You made dakos by yourself?? You are unbelievable!!!! Super!!
I usually buy dakos and then put tomato, feta cheese, onion,oregano,olives and some oil on it, never have I tried to make dakos by myself!
I would love to try this, but I would like my dakos a little thicker. Do you think it will bake properly or is it going to be too hard?
Kat, these are another great snack and a wonderful appetizer or meze to serve.
Jeena, I’ll taste one for ya!
Helene, it wasn’t too hard to make.
Glam, ask him about Cretan Dakos, he would have eaten them there.
Kalyn, glad to have shown you something new.
The chase, simple is best has won out here again.
Elena, efharisto…I made them because the packages of Dakos we buy are usually broken, so I made my own. I wish I were in Greece now…I’ll be there in August.
Ioanna, they should be thicker, yes. I placed them in a warm oven (too warm of an oven) and it retarded the bread-rising process. A minor mistake I will not repeat.
As for being too hard…you can control how hard or soft you wish your Dakos to be when you dry them out in the second baking.
Like Ilva, I looked at the photo and said to myself: friselle. The Mediterranean network of food traditions.
Those would disappear in 2 seconds around here.
I like the olive!
Those looks really good…and it doesn’t help that it is about lunch time here. They looks reasonable easy too – a lot of stuff you’d have on hand.
Go to Crete – you will not be disappointed. Just avoid July and August and the couple of touristy spots (which isn’t hard – Crete is a big island and there is sth for every taste). Btw Cretans usually prepare their Dako with a kind of cheese that’s called mizithra (or xynomizithra in the West). But Feta is just fine as well.
this looks great and id love to try this – i found this site as i was looking for the recipe for those square sturdy little chunky husks they originally make for the sailors on crete – do you know if this is the same dough?
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[...] rest of the tomatoes, some feta and barley rusks (which are a staple in my kitchen) I made “dakos“, the cretan dish I love eating as a main meal too. A large omelet with cheese and some [...]