I followed my neighborhood bread baker one night to see how traditional lagana, the Lenten flatbread, is made.
Lagana is the unique Lenten flatbread that is traditionally eaten on Clean Monday, the start of the 40-day Greek Orthodox Lenten fast. The fast, indeed, is a paradigm of the Mediterranean diet and most of the dishes eaten during this 40-day period also offer a great, delicious option for vegans and vegetarians.
Traditionally, lagana is made without yeast, a true unleavened bread, like those mentioned in the Old Testament. Lagana is NEVER cut with a knife but rather broken apart, because iron, the stuff of knife-making long ago, was believed to contain the powers of evil.
Few people make the bread at home anymore, relying instead on local bakeries in Athens and throughout Greece. It’s an all-night baking process, one punctuated by glasses of retsina, bowls of pickled vegetables and wedges of “Makedonikos” halvas, made with tahini. These are the Lenten treats bakers sustain themselves on while preparing these oversized, flat loaves.
It’s thought that the word, probably from laganum, the batter-based griddle breads made on hot stone in ancient Greece, might be the precursor to the flat, wide pasta shape, lasagna.
Few bakers today make the bread without yeast, simply because it’s too much trouble and take too long.
Here's my recipe for making it at home:
Ingredients
3 envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
7 to 8 cups bread flour
2 ¼ cups warm water
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp extra virgin Greek olive oil, plus more for lubricating dough
Sesame seeds
Instructions
In a medium size bowl, dissolve yeast, sugar, and 1/4 cup of the bread flour in warm water. Cover with a cloth and let stand for about 15 minutes, until mixture begins to bubble.
In a large bowl, stir together 7 cups of flour and salt, making a well in the center. Pour olive oil into the well and add yeast mixture. Stir well with a wooden spoon until it can't be stirred any longer and all ingredients are combined.
Dust work surface when some of the remaining flour. Turn dough out onto the floured surface and knead for about 10 - 12 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and silky to the touch.
Shape dough into a ball. Rub with additional olive oil. Place in a large bowl and cover with a cloth. Let stand for about 2 hours in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk.
When the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and knead again on a lightly floured surface, down to the original size, for 6 to 7 minutes. The dough should be soft not sticky and warm. Divide dough into 2 equal balls and shape each into a small loaf, about 6 inches in length.
Lightly oil 2 baking sheets. With a rolling pin (preferably a studded one), roll out each loaf into a flat oval shape, about 15 inches long and 6 inches wide. Place on baking sheets. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 45 to 50 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 F while the dough is rising.
Bake each lagana for about 30 minutes, until deep golden brown on the outside. Remove baking sheets from the oven and immediately remove loaves to a wire rack to cool.
8 сен 2024
