Chef Dimitra
Cretan Staka me Avga (Στάκα με αυγά)
In Crete, eggs meet staka, sheep's-milk cream warmed until its butter separates, making a breakfast so rich it needs only bread and restraint.
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Sfakianopita from Sfakia, Crete (Σφακιανόπιτα)
Created by
Sfakia's thin Cretan cheese pie is rolled until the myzithra almost shows through, cooked on the griddle, and eaten warm under thyme honey.
Breakfast & Brunch
Greek
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
Celebration
45 min
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield8 thin pies
Sfakianopita belongs to Sfakia, the hard mountain country of southwestern Crete, and it is not a fluffy pancake or a little cheese parcel. It is a thin griddle pie, dough wrapped around soft myzithra and rolled so fine that the cheese nearly shows through the skin. Then comes thyme honey, because Crete knows when to stop.
The whole dish rests on the rolling. Rest the dough first, drain the cheese well, and press slowly from the center outward. If the dough fights you, wait. If the cheese is wet, it will make a slippery mess. When it is right, the pie cooks into a freckled, tender round with a faint tang inside and honey shining over the top.
I don't invent it. I find it, I test it, I write it down. This one needs few things, and good ones: fresh Cretan cheese if you can get it, honest flour, a little oil, and honey with thyme in its nose. Λίγα και καλά.
Sfakianopita is tied to Sfakia in the White Mountains of Crete, where small cheese pies were practical food for shepherd households with flour, fresh whey cheese, and honey close at hand. The pie is usually made with fresh myzithra or the local soft cheese pichtogalo Chanion, which received EU PDO status in 1996. Its thinness separates it from many other Cretan kalitsounia and cheese pies: it is griddled flat, not baked as a parcel.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
plain flour
Quantity
300g
plus extra for rolling
lukewarm water
Quantity
150ml
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
30ml
raki or white wine vinegar
Quantity
15ml
fine sea salt
Quantity
4g
fresh myzithra, pichtogalo Chanion, or soft xinomyzithra
Quantity
300g
well drained
olive oil
Quantity
30ml
for the pan as needed
Cretan thyme honey
Quantity
80g
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| plain flourplus extra for rolling | 300g |
| lukewarm water | 150ml |
| extra virgin olive oil | 30ml |
| raki or white wine vinegar | 15ml |
| fine sea salt | 4g |
| fresh myzithra, pichtogalo Chanion, or soft xinomyzithrawell drained | 300g |
| olive oilfor the pan as needed | 30ml |
| Cretan thyme honeyfor serving | 80g |
Equipment Needed
- •heavy cast-iron skillet or flat griddle, 28cm
- •slender rolling pin
- •fine sieve for draining cheese
Instructions
- 1
Make the dough
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the water, olive oil, and raki or vinegar, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and only faintly tacky. If it sticks hard to your fingers, add flour a spoonful at a time. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- 2
Prepare the cheese
Crumble or mash the cheese until soft and even. It should be moist, not wet. If it weeps in the bowl, press it in a sieve for 10 minutes, because loose whey makes the thin dough slide and tear.
- 3
Divide and fill
Divide the dough into 8 pieces, about 60g each, and the cheese into 8 portions, about 38g each. Roll one dough piece into a small round, set the cheese in the center, and bring the edges up around it like a pouch. Pinch closed, then flatten gently with your palm.
- 4
Roll them thin
On a lightly floured surface, roll each filled pouch into a thin round, 16 to 18cm across. This is the step that decides Sfakianopita. The dough must be rested so it stretches without fighting you, and the cheese must spread inside it in a thin, pale layer. A little cheese showing through is right. A thick pie is not from Sfakia.
Roll from the center outward and turn the pie often. If one small tear opens, dust it with flour and keep going. - 5
Cook the pies
Heat a heavy skillet or griddle over medium heat. Brush with a film of olive oil, then cook one pie at a time for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until freckled brown, lightly blistered, and flexible. Keep the heat steady. Too hot and the dough spots before the cheese warms through.
- 6
Finish with honey
Serve warm, with thyme honey spooned over the top. Let the honey run into the little blisters and folds. Sfakianopita wants nothing more.
Chef Tips
- •For the cheese, pichtogalo Chanion is closest if you can find it. Fresh myzithra works well. If all you have is a sharper xinomyzithra, mix it with a little anthotyro so the filling stays soft, not chalky.
- •Do not drown the pan in oil. Sfakianopita is griddled, not fried like a doughnut. A brushed film is enough to brown the surface and keep it supple.
- •Eat them warm. They hold for a few hours and can be rewarmed in a dry skillet, but the first serving is the best, when the cheese is soft and the honey has just run across the freckles.
Advance Preparation
- •The cheese can be drained up to 12 hours ahead in the refrigerator.
- •The dough can rest, covered, for up to 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator. Bring it back to room temperature before rolling.
- •Cooked pies can be held for 4 hours and rewarmed briefly in a dry skillet. Add the honey only at the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 105g)
Calories
310 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
420 mg
Total Carbohydrates
40 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
9 g
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