Traditional Lagana (Greek Flatbread for Clean Monday)

Clean Monday or Kathara Deftera (in Greek) is the day that marks the beginning of Orthodox Lent, during which people fast until Easter.

According to tradition, Greeks cook fasting dishes such as tarama, eggplant salad (recipe in our e-cookbook), olives, dolmades (recipe in our book), giant beans (recipe in our book), etc.

And of course, the traditional flatbread for this day, lagana, is not missing from the table!

We love laganes (or lagana in singular), and we prefer them crunchy, and not too bready. They are delicious the same day or the following ones (you can also warm them for a few minutes in the oven).

They accompany perfectly homemade & plant-based cheese (new recipes coming soon!), olives, avocado and sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, etc.

Traditional Lagana (Greek Flatbread for Clean Monday)

Pelagia & Mary – Greek Appetite

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, bread, Snack

Cuisine greek

Servings 2 breads

Ingredients

  

• 300 ml lukewarm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 package dry yeast
• 400 gr flour + about 45 gr for stretching the dough
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt

For coating

• ⅔ tbsp. sugar or carob honey or petimezi (grape syrup)
• 3 tbsp. hot water
• 100 gr sesame seeds

Instructions

 

• In a bowl, mix the lukewarm water, sugar and yeast, cover with a towel and leave it for about 20 minutes to activate the yeast.

  It is important that the water is neither hot nor cold but lukewarm so that yeast can be activated.
• Once it is ready, place it in a deep bowl together with the flour and shape it by pouring a little oil in your hands. The dough will be sticky. Cover it and leave it aside to rise or in a closed, but preheated oven at 50° C, for about 30 minutes.
• When ready, prepare the dough stretching in a baking tray on parchment paper.

  Add a little flour to the parchment paper and use the rest of the 45 gr. to shape the dough. You can now add the salt.
• Divide the dough into 2 parts and open them with the rolling pin into 2 laganes or a large one.
• We want the laganes to be crunchy and not too bready, so we stretch them a lot with the rolling pin. Cover them and let them aside or in a closed, but preheated oven at 50° C, for about 30 minutes in order for them to rise.
• When ready, preheat the oven to 200° C and prepare the coating mixture.

  Dissolve the sugar in water and brush it all over the surface of the lagana, where you add the sesame seeds and press with your fingers to make dimples.
• Bake at 200° C (depending on the oven) for about 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave them there for a few minutes.

Notes

 

 

Keyword traditional greek bread, vegan