Lagana Flatbread (Λαγάνα)
A soft, dimpled flatbread brushed with olive oil and covered in toasted sesame seeds, baked once a year for Clean Monday to open the Lenten table. Pull off warm pieces to dip in olives, taramasalata or halva.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Wake the yeast
In a bowl, stir the warm water with the sugar and yeast. Leave it for 10 minutes in a draft-free spot until it looks foamy on top; this tells you the yeast is alive and the bread will rise well.
- 320 ml warm water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 10 g instant dried yeast
✅ Done when: the surface is foamy and smells yeasty
Mix and knead dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, then pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix until it comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until smooth, soft and a little tacky but not sticking to your hands.
- 500 g flour
- 10 g salt
- 60 ml olive oil
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, elastic and springs back when poked
First rise
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Shape and dimple
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Top with sesame
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Bake the bread
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Cool and serve
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Wake the yeast
In a bowl, stir the warm water with the sugar and yeast. Leave it for 10 minutes in a draft-free spot until it looks foamy on top; this tells you the yeast is alive and the bread will rise well.
- 320 ml warm water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 10 g instant dried yeast
✅ Done when: the surface is foamy and smells yeasty
Mix and knead dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, then pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Mix until it comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until smooth, soft and a little tacky but not sticking to your hands.
- 500 g flour
- 10 g salt
- 60 ml olive oil
✅ Done when: the dough is smooth, elastic and springs back when poked
First rise
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Shape and dimple
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Top with sesame
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Bake the bread
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Cool and serve
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
Lagana is one of the oldest breads known in Greek cooking, mentioned by the comic playwright Aristophanes centuries before the Christian era as an everyday flatbread baked directly on hot stones or in ash. Over time it became tied to a single day: Clean Monday, the start of Great Lent in the Orthodox calendar, when Greek families still bake or buy it fresh.
On that day it is torn by hand and shared alongside the other foods of the Lenten picnic table — olives, taramasalata, dolmades, halva — none of which contain meat, dairy or oil-rich sauces in the strict sense, though the oil-brushed, sesame-crusted lagana itself is the one indulgence of the spread.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is the single bread Greeks associate with one specific day of the year, carrying both an ancient name and a living religious meaning.
💡 Fun Fact
Bakeries across Greece sell lagana for only a short window around Clean Monday, and lines can form outside popular fournos (bakeries) early that morning.
Greece, nationwide
37.98°N, 23.73°E
Related recipes
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!