Lagana with Garlicky Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Rosemary is not your classic Greek flatbread traditionally baked for Clean Monday, but a twist you can make year around.
The classic flatbread has an oblong shape”, decorated by impressing fingertips and sesame seeds.
History of the Greek flatbread Lagana
The traditional Greek flatbread was originally unleavened but later on yeast was added.
It is not clear when the name “lagana was first applied to a leavened bread.
It takes its name for the ancient Greek word “laganon”, which was prepared with flour and water and marks the beginning of the Great Lent period.
A different flatbread
When I received the package from GreekFoodShop.com and saw two kinds of olives and sun-dried tomatoes, the first thing that came to my mind was to make lagana, which is the predecessor of focaccia and top it with these wonderful ingredients.
Tepes edible olives are produced in Gera, which is a beautiful and rich area, on the Island of Lesvos, with endless mountains of olive groves surrounded by the silver gulf waters of Gera.
The olives take their name from Tepes Hill, where the olive groves, with very old olive trees are produced.
These olives are marinated with garlic, thyme, sea salt and olive oil.
They have an amazing taste as they are not very salty, the garlic flavor is subtle and the herbs give them an irresistible taste you cannot stop eating them!!
After using the quantity I needed, I pitted the remaining olives as well and to preserve them for a longer life, I put them in a glass jar which I filled with olive oil and added some rosemary as well.
These can be eaten as they are, for a Greek traditional breakfast, added in salads, in pasta dishes, on pizzas, to make mezedes and the possibilities adding them in other recipes are endless.
Not all members of my family share my love for olives so I had to make the second one using ingredients they eat.
I made it again a few days later and instead of making the second half of the dough into another lagana, I made it into small, rose shaped little breads (again for those who do not eat olives).
Although I have taken step by step photos, I usually cook a lot of food simultaneously, so they are probably mixed up with other recipes.
I only found this one and hope that it will help you shape them.
I divided the dough into smaller pieces, I brushed it with olive oil and added a leaf of fresh mint in the centre and on top of that a slice of halloumi and topped it with a sun-dried tomato.
After folding the four corners, shaping it into a rose, I finished by brushing it again with olive oil and baked them in a preheated oven to 180 degrees C until golden.
Imagine the flavour of mint and the salty halloumi paired with sweet sun-dried tomato on top! Delicious!
I have made this lagana at least 3 times this week.
The last one had the same ingredients described in the recipe, except the onion but with the addition of 40 grams of feta.
The hole in the middle was made by accident as the dough broke while I was pressing it with my fingers and since I liked the idea of a wreath-shaped bread, instead of patching it, I made the hole even bigger:)
Iliada sun-dried tomatoes are the best I have ever tried.
They are preserved in olive oil with herbs and their succulent and sweet flesh makes everything taste better.
I must say that these sun-dried tomatoes are love at “first taste” and you will be seeing them often in my recipes.
They can be served with salads, on pizzas, in sauces, in pasta dishes, in breads,to make spreads, cooked in many dishes, to accompany lamb or chicken and in so many other recipes.
Conclusion: if you use quality ingredients then you will make quality food.
This simple lagana bread with Greek olives, sun-dried tomatoes, Greek extra virgin olive oil and rosemary proved it.
The flat-bread was crunchy outside and moist inside and super tasty.
It can be eaten on its own as a snack, any time of the day.
The first time I made it, we accompanied it with stewed snails stiffado, in a delicious sauce with fresh tomato and sun-dried tomatoes and the bread was perfect to mop up the delicious sauce.
GreekFoodShop were kind enough to send us two bottles of Greek wines.
We paired it with Nico Lazaridi Queen of Hearts wine, which although I am not an expert, I think it paired wonderfully with all the mezedes I had made.
We are saving the second bottle of Magic Mountain for a special occasion.
Update 2019: The links of Greekfoodshop.com have been removed, as unfortunately this company closed down.
Boroume (we can!)
On another note, you all know the economic problems Greece is facing, so please show your solidarity by supporting us in any way you can.
We are among the more privileged and although the crisis has hit all Greek families, we are still fortunate to still have delicious food in our plates.
There are, however, a lot people who are less privileged, who are unemployed and cannot feed their families.
A group of people have created Boroume.gr (which means “we can”), who are coordinating the distribution of surplus food (leftovers from restaurants, houses, hotels, other donations from companies, supermarkets etc.,) to people who need it.
In order to be able to function they need funds for premises, electronic equipment etc, to pay bills like electricity, water, telephone, internet etc.
Their only funds are the donations of people and voluntary work.
At the moment their site is only in Greek (update, in English as well) but they are still improving what they have recently started.
They have opened bank accounts but also an account at Paypal for donations by friend of Greece.
Lagana with Garlicky Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Rosemary
Lagana with Garlicky Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Rosemary is not your classic Greek flatbread traditionally baked for Clean Monday, but a twist you can make year around.
Ingredients
Classic lagana:
- 700 grams bread flour
- 25 grams fresh yeast (or 1 sachet dried yeast (9 grams)
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Extra olive oil to brush the baking tin and the dough
Topping:
- 1/2 cup Greek olives
- 5 sundried tomatoes
- 1 small red onion, sliced (optional)
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tsp fleur du sel or coarse sea salt
- Freshly grated black pepper
- 40 grams feta (a must in the recipe)
2nd Topping:
- 1 Frankfurt sausage
- 1 slice halloumi
- 1 sundried tomato
- ¼ cup olive oil for brushing
Instructions
- In a bowl add yeast, sugar and part of the water and mix until the yeast is dissolved Add some flour and mix until it reaches the consistency of a thick batter Cover with cling film and a napkin and set aside until it bubbles.
- Attach the dough hook to your mixer and in the bowl add the remaining flour, olive oil, yeast, salt and mix Gradually add the water and mix on low speed until the dough is ready and does not stick on your hands (Add more water if necessary or if it is sticky add more flour).
- Cover with cling film and a napkin and leave it to rise until it doubles in volume.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface.
- Preheat the oven to 200o C / 400o F.
- Brush your baking tin with olive oil
- Divide the dough into two equal parts and form each one into a ball Pressing it with your hands or using a small rolling pin shape it into an oval flatbread.
- Wet your fingers with water and poke the dough to make indents and then brush some olive oil on top. (At this Stage the Classic lagana is ready. Just add some sesame seeds on top).
- Put the olives on top and press them with your fingers Add the sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary and onions, sprinkle some salt and pepper and set aside to rise again.
- Place the baking tin the middle of the oven, lower temperature to 180o C / 350o and bake until golden, for about 40 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition Information
Yield 20 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 250Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 4mgSodium 447mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 6g
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Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
Mary
Wednesday 30th of May 2012
Hi Ivy, I made the Lagana tonight and the family loved it and thanked me for it! The first topping was especially good (admittedly, I used vegetarian sausage and no cheese on the second topping so it was kind of plain). Just like you said, the bread was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, very good. I don't usually even make white bread recipes like this but my children are all home to visit and I wanted to make something special for them. Thanks! For other chefs working with the (outdated) measurement system we have here in the US, 700 grams flour is about 1.86# or 5 1/2 cups. The yeast is a scant 1 Tbsp. I needed extra water for a total of 1 2/3 cups. It was an easy recipe and well worth it.
Ivy
Wednesday 30th of May 2012
Glad you liked it Mary.
Heidi19
Tuesday 29th of May 2012
This Lagana sounds and looks so good. It makes me want to dive in for a bite. I will surely try this. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Jamie
Monday 28th of May 2012
Mmmm beautiful! I actually have some bread dough in the fridge leftover from making pizza and I normally roll out a focaccia with it. Now I want to add olives (we get this kind of olive on our market), sundried tomatoes and onions. Yum!
Ivy
Monday 28th of May 2012
Thanks for tweeting. I just found your two comments in spam.
Eftychia
Friday 25th of May 2012
My mother makes lagana bread, but your version is something else!! Delicious Ivy!!
erwin
Friday 25th of May 2012
I never eat lagana because stores my country don't sell it. But from it looks like a pizza for me. I'm from asia so any food like bakery isn't our primary meal but I lovely to eat it someday.