Sourdough Lagana Bread
Lagana Bread is part of an old greek tradition and it is baked and eaten only once a year.
This bread is consumed on clean Monday which is the first day of the Great Lent leading up to Easter. Forty days without fish, meat, eggs and dairy. You can eat vegetables, pulses, good olive oil, shellfish and Octopus (this because they have no blood).
Originally lagana was unleavened but the more modern versions call for yeast or sourdough. Sesame seeds are the most common and delicious topping but there are several versions with herbs and olives. The name comes from a Greco-Roman pastry called Lagana and some people associate this name to the origin of the word Lasagna.
It’s a delicious in between a bread loaf and a focaccia. I made mine with sourdough. I am not going to get into details of how to prepare a starter here as it is a long process and there are many great blogs focussed on that specifically. I will however give you a precise schedule on all the steps that will help you plan it around your day.
Delicious Lent
Ingredients
This makes 2 lagana loafs
Levain:
100g of lukewarm water
100g of strong white flour
20g of mature starter
2nd Mix:
150g of lukewarm water
150g of strong white flour
150g of levain
1 tsp of caster sugar
Final Mix
2nd Mix
+
350g of strong white flour
2 tsp of caster sugar
4 tbsp of olive oil
15g of salt
100g lukewarm water
Glaze
4 tbsp of sesame seeds
2 tbsp of sugar
4 tbsp of water
Step by step
Day 1_ 8.00am
Mix your levain ingredients in a bowl. Cover it with cling film and let it rest for 6 to 8h
Day 1_4.00pm
Prepare the second mix in a bowl including 150g of your levain(discard the remaining). Cover the bowl with cling film. Let it rest for 3h
Day 1_7.00pm
Use the second mix and add in all the ingredients of the final mix
This is your final dough! Knead for 10 min and cover with a cling film
Let your dough rest overnight covered at room temperature (no fridge!)
Day 2_8.00am
Divide your dough into 2 pieces
Brush 2 oven trays with olive oil and cover with parchment paper
Place your dough on the tray and gently press down with your finger to stretch it out and to give the characteristic oval shape. It should be roughly 2cm thick
Let it rest for a couple of hours until it doubles in size
Day 2_10.00-11.00am
Mix the water and sugar to make the glaze
With your fingertips slowly press down on the surface of the lagana to create little dimples
Brush your lagana surface with the glaze mix and scatter the sesame seeds on top
Your lagana is ready to bake
Baking
Preheat to oven at 250C
Bake the first lagana for 10min
Turn the oven down at 200C and bake for 10min
Repeat for the above for the second lagana
Enjoy!
