Traditional Lagana recipe (Greek Shrove Monday Bread) (2024)

Let me start by saying that it’s a shame that Lagana is only eaten once a year!Lagana is a delicious Greek flat-bread, which is very similar to focaccia and is traditionally baked on Shrove Monday (or Clean Monday, ‘Kathari Deutera’). Shrove Monday is the first day of Great Lent before Easter.

This Lagana recipe will give you the authentic, unique flavour of this delicious Greek flat-bread, scented with tahini and white wine. Simply amazing!

Lagana Bread recipe – A delicious Shrove Monday Tradition

Shrove Monday or Clean Monday (Kathari Deftera) is a Greek public Holiday, usually celebrated by going out for a picnic and also by the custom of kite flying. As with most holidays in Greece, this one also revolves around food!

As it is the first day of the Orthodox Lent, no meat, fish (only these with no blood, like octopus or calamari) or dairy products are consumed. This means that it’s the day of the year to make all these traditional Greek recipes, like taramasalata, dolmades, semolina halva and of course the one thing that holds everything together.. this traditional Lagana recipe!

Ingredients for Greek Lagana bread recipe

Since Lagana bread is traditionally a GreekLenten bread, it doesn’t contain any ingredients that can’t be consumed during Fast, like dairy products.

The main ingredients you will need to make Greek Lagana bread are simple ingredients you already have in your kitchen. Bread flour, yeast, olive oil, salt and sugar are commonly used

Tip: When preparing this Greek Lagana bread recipe it is best to use a “strong” flour known as bread flour which is high in protein. This will help the bread hold it’s shape better and give more texture.

You could be really happy with the end result using only these main ingredients, but if you like experimenting with new flavors, you should try adding some tahini and white wine or even ouzo.

I found it really interesting to use tahini in the dough, as it adds a bit extra nutty flavor and texture. If you don’t fancy tahini or if you don’t have any laying around, you could substitute with olive oil (50ml).

Tip: An authentic last touch is to press your fingertips into the dough all along the surface of the Lagana and sprinkle with sesame seeds, which is most commonly used for topping.

Other delicious Lenten recipes to pair with

Greek cuisine has a lot of vegetarian and dairy free recipes to enjoy during Lenten period. Here are some of my favourite dishes to pair wonderfully with Lagana bread.

• Authentic Greek Fava (Yellow split peas puree)
• Gigantes plaki (Greek baked “giant” beans)
• Delicious Briam recipe (Greek mixed roasted vegetables)
• Greek eggplant dip (Melitzanosalata)
• Greek Bean soup recipe (Fasolada)
• Greek Octopus and onion stew (Xtapodi stifado)
• Greek okra stew recipe with tomatoes (Bamies Laderes)

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