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Best Daktyla in London

“A leavened bread whose name means 'fingers'—made by segmenting dough so it bakes as individual pieces still clinging together.”

Daktyla

What the real thing tastes like

Daktyla (Greek: Δάχτυλα) is a leavened 'country' or 'village' bread from Greece, but also popular in Cyprus and Turkey. It has a segmented shape resembling fingers of bread, which give it its name of 'finger bread' (Δάχτυλα, Daktyla in Greek means "fingers"), which is made by making deep slashes in a loaf before baking, or making a row of rolls of dough and allowing them to become attached to each other at proving stage. It is traditionally made from a 'country' flour, which is a mix of wheat flours and fine cornmeal, which gives it a light yellow colour, and is topped with sesame and nigella seeds, some recipes also include nigella seeds in the dough. In Cyprus, the name daktyla is also used for long, thin pastries stuffed with almonds, cinnamon, and sugar, then fried and soaked in a syrup flavored with orange blossom water or rose water.

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Daktyla is a segmented country bread that looks like a hand opened in greeting—each finger a separate piece of dough that bakes attached, or a single loaf slashed deep before the oven. Made from a blend of wheat flour and fine cornmeal that turns it a gentle yellow, it's crowned with sesame and nigella seeds, sometimes worked into the dough itself. In Cyprus, the name travels to a different kitchen entirely: long, thin pastries filled with almonds and cinnamon, fried until crisp, then soaked in floral syrups of orange blossom or rose.

Order it here when it has

  • light yellow crumb from cornmeal
  • dual identity across regions
  • traditional village flour blend

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