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Kepta duona — crisp Lithuanian rye bread with garlic
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Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/snacks/kepta-duona-crisp-lithuanian-rye-bread-with-garlic
About this recipe
Kepta duona is a Lithuanian snack of crisp dark rye bread strips scented with fresh garlic. Dense day-old sourdough develops well-toasted edges and a pleasant rye flavor after a short fry. Cut it into fairly thin strips and fry in small batches so every piece touches the hot oil. Add the garlic only to the drained, still-warm bread outside the pan: it keeps its aroma and the small pieces do not burn in the oil. This simple version has no cheese, mayonnaise, or separate sauce and makes four snack servings. It is best to serve each batch right away, without covering, which would trap steam. Allow about 55 minutes in total, including heating the oil, frying every batch, and a brief cool before eating.
Ingredients
Bread and seasoning
400 g baked dark rye sourdough bread with a dense crumb, from the previous day, without seeds or fruit; weighed with the crust before frying
12 g raw garlic, weighed after peeling
3 g fine salt
300 ml refined rapeseed oil for frying; oil remaining in the pan and fat drained onto the paper towel are not served
Steps
Cut the bread into slices about 1 cm thick, then into strips about 1.5 cm wide and about 6–8 cm long. Keep the crust; use the shorter ends too. Finely grate the garlic, then divide it and the salt into four portions for the successive batches of bread. Prepare paper towel for draining and a rack for the finished strips.
Pour all the oil into a high-sided pan about 28 cm across with a base about 24 cm across. The initial layer will be about 0.5–0.7 cm deep. Heat over medium heat to about 170–175°C; when you put in the first bread strip, lively bubbles should appear around it immediately, without the oil smoking. Keep this first piece as part of the frying batch.
Add enough bread for the first batch to weigh about 100 g, in a single layer with gaps. Fry for about 4–6 minutes in total, turning with tongs, until evenly toasted with crisp edges. Dark bread burns easily, so lower the heat if the edges blacken quickly; if it is not really sizzling, let the oil heat up again. Lift the strips onto paper towel for about 30–60 seconds to release excess fat. Do not add garlic to the pan at this stage.
AI-generated Transfer the still-warm drained batch to a dry bowl and gently toss with one portion of garlic and salt so the small pieces stick to the surface. Move to the rack; do not return bread with garlic to the hot oil. Fry the remaining three batches of about 100 g the same way, allowing the oil to recover its temperature between them, and season each immediately outside the pan. Use all the bread, garlic, and salt, including the smaller ends; do not add extra oil. Allow about 35 minutes to heat the oil and fry every batch.
Wait about 3–5 minutes before eating, until the strips are safely warm and their surface firms slightly. Serve each batch without covering and without stacking tightly so they do not steam and soften. Divide all the bread among four snack servings. Do not serve the remaining pan oil or fat from the paper towel.
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