Paximade

Paximade
from Vegetarian Planet

This Greek bread, perfumed with anise, tastes almost like a cake, although the sugar content is much lower. You can keep this bread for days, toasting it for breakfast morning after morning.
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspon salt
1 teaspoon anise seed; or 2 star anise, ground in a spice mill
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole or low-fat milk [I used skim]
1) Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9-by-5-by3 inch loaf pan. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the anise to the flour mixture.
2) In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add an egg, beat well, then add the other egg. Beat until the mixture lightens in color, about 1 minute. Add the milk and the sifted flour mixture alternately, the flour in three parts and the milk in two. Fold with a rubber spatula until they are incorporated. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan.
3) Bake the bread for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan 10 minutes before inverting the loaf onto a rack. When the bread has cooled completely, wrap it well in plastic. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. (After the second day, toast the bread to revive it). Makes 1 loaf.