Cretan Paximadi Twice-Baked Barley Rusks

What you need

• 225 g (1/2 lb) whole barley flour
• 225 g (1/2 lb) whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, or 25 g fresh yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus a pinch
• 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) lukewarm water, plus more if needed

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Stir the yeast and a pinch each of salt and sugar into 120 ml of the lukewarm water. Leave it until foamy, about 10 min.

2. 2

   In a large bowl, mix the barley flour, wheat flour, the rest of the sugar and the 1/2 tsp salt.

3. 3

   Make a well in the middle, pour in the yeast mixture and the rest of the water, and stir to a shaggy dough.

4. 4

   Knead until soft and no longer sticky, about 10 min, adding a little more water if it feels dry. Barley dough stays denser and less stretchy than wheat dough.

5. 5

   Shape it into a ball, put it in an oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until risen, about 1 hour.

6. 6

   Knock the dough back and shape it into a long, narrow loaf on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

7. 7

   Cut the loaf into slices 2 cm (3/4 in) thick, stopping just short of the base so they stay joined.

8. 8

   Cover and let it rise again until visibly puffy. Meanwhile heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

9. 9

   Bake the loaf until firm and hollow-sounding underneath, about 1 hour.

10. 10

    Lower the oven to 100 °C (210 °F). Once the loaf is cool enough to handle, break or cut it apart along the slices.

11. 11

    Spread the slices on the tray and dry them in the oven until hard all the way through, about 2 hours.

12. 12

    Let the rusks cool completely, then store them in an airtight tin. Soften them with a splash of water before eating, as in dakos.

Imported from olivetomato.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.