Paximathia (vanilla twists) koulourakia

Only slightly sweet. I made these for mum as she insists she didn’t put sugar in the ones we grew up eating. Both myself and my sisters, Toula and Eleni, have transcribed recipes from 30 years or more ago, which contradict that.
Still, mum asks, she gets.
The first time I made them I just reduced the amount of sugar. As a baker, I knew they would not be great. The little sugar and butter did not cream.
Light bulb moment, I replaced some of the sugar with fine semolina. This was a similar consistency with the sugar and let me cream the mixture well before adding the eggs.
This is a work in progress and depending on how much and how dry your semolina is, you will need anywhere from 1–3 cups of milk.

Ingredients

  • 250g butter
  • ¼ cups granulated sugar 55g
  • 1.5 cups fine semolina 285g
  • 4 eggs
  • 1-3 cup milk
  • 4tsp Vanilla
  • 8.5 cups Self Raising flour 1360g (87g baking powder for 1360g flour to make SR flour)

Method

  1. Have eggs, butter, milk, and semolina at room temperature
  2. Cream butter, semolina, and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
  3. Add eggs on at a time beating after each addition until just mixed in. 
  4. Add vanilla and mix in. 
  5. Add flour in batches and mix until just combined. 
  6. Add ⅓ of the milk and mix. 
  7. Add another ⅓ and mix in. 
  8. Add remainder and hold back a little. Add extra if required to achieve a dough consistency that can be rolled and manipulated.

Koulouria

  1. Take a small ball of dough and roll out into a long piece.
  2. Make into a loop and press closed or into a twist.
  3. Glaze with beaten eggs twice.
  4. Sprinkle with
  5. Turn down oven to low and slowly bake until biscuits are crisp through. About 30 minutes. If you like them really crispy ( and hard) try for 45–60 min, but keep an eye on them. 

Paximathia

  1. Roll out log and place on tray cutting through to mark pieces.
  2. Glaze with beaten eggs twice. 
  3. Bake until golden.
  4. Take out and allow to cool.
  5. Cut or break at markings and layout biscuits on tray and place in a slow oven until slightly browned and dried out.
  6. NOTE if you want to break them and get a lovely textures finish, let them cool first. If you are in a hurry, use a knife and cut them. 
  7. Turn over if required to slightly brown the other side.