Greek Lagana Bread

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OPA! YAMAS!

Lagana is a Greek flat-bread baked for Clean Monday, the 1st day of the Great Lent , before Easter! Let me start by saying that unfortunately, Lagana bread is only eaten ONCE a year! YES! We used to bake it only one day of 365 days of the year, on Shrove Monday (or Clean Monday, ‘Kathari Deutera’).

 Lagana is a delicious Greek bread, which is very similar to Focaccia. Traditionally, it was prepared without the yeast, but leavened lagana is nowadays more common. It is typically flat, oval-shaped, with surface decorated by impressing fingertips.

Shrove Monday or Clean Monday (Kathari Deftera) is a Greek public Holiday, usually celebrated by going out for a picnic and also by the custom of kite flying. As with most holidays in Greece, this one also revolves around FOOD! This means that it’s the day of  the year to make all these traditional Greek recipes, cuttlefish , octopus or calamari ,  taramasalata , dolmades , halva and of course the one thing that holds everything together is….this traditional Lagana recipe!

The main ingredients you will need to make Greek Lagana bread are simple ingredients you already have in your kitchen. Bread flour, water, yeast, olive oil, salt and sugar! Also, for the authentic touch you can press your fingertips into the dough all along the surface of the Lagana and sprinkle with sesame seeds!

Thanks God, Greek cuisine has so many vegan / vegeterian / dairy free ingredients and products that you can add in your bread to make it more fancy!

Foodenyo’s version is made with some olives & sun-dried tomatoes! And of course, sprinkle with sesame seeds & see salt!

Ingredients:

• 500g all-purpose flour
• 350 ml lukewarm water
• 10g dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Oleosophia
• olives & sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
• sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
• sea salt for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl or in your mixer’s bowl put the yeast, water and sugar and mix well to combine. Let it for about 5-7 minutes, then add the flour and salt to coat the water and set aside for 10 minutes. Do not blend the flour in the water.
2. Using the dough hook, mix the ingredients (medium speed) for about 7 minutes, or use your hands, until the dough is soft and does not crumble. If it needs, add a little bit flour at a time, until the dough is firm and not too sticky.
3. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a dark, warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the weather, the climate, the type of flour or yeast you used and the humidity).
4. After that, cut some olives and sun-dried tomatoes in small pieces and add them in the dough, knead well to combine. Then, oil the bottom and sides of a big baking tray (or just use a baking parchment) and gently deflate the dough. Spread the dough for the Lagana evenly on the tray and let it rise for another 10-15 minutes.
5. Using your fingers, poke some holes across the surface of the Lagana bread and brush with olive oil, sprinkle with water, sesame seeds and sea salt.
6. Bake the Lagana in preheated oven at 180 °C for about 25-30 minutes or until crispy and deep golden.

Nutrition Facts (servings: 15)

Maria Mentzelou is Dietitian / Nutritionist with M.Sc. Applied Nutrition and Dietetics with specialization in Clinical Nutrition (Harokopio University) and Specialization in Life Coaching and NLP (University Aegean). Find out more about her or contact her at maria.mentzelou@hotmail.com , Tel. 6984515475 and in its pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Don’t forget to tag us #foodenyo on Instagram, if you remake this one! We’d love to see your recreations!

Enjoy,

Foodenyo