Lagana (bread)

Lagana

Leavened lagana with sesame seeds
Alternative names	λαγάνα
Type	Bread
Place of origin	Greece
Ingredients generally used	Sesame seeds
Similar dishes	Focaccia

Lagana (Greek: λαγάνα, from λάγανον^[1]) is a Greek flatbread traditionally baked for Clean Monday, the first day of the Great Lent. Traditionally, it was prepared unleavened (without the yeast), but leavened lagana is nowadays more common.^[2] It is typically flat, oval-shaped, with surface decorated by impressing fingertips.^[3][4]

Sesame seeds are a common topping, and it may also be topped with other herbs, and seasoned with olive oil.^[5][6] The name comes from a Greco-Roman pastry dough lagana, which is also the origin of the word lasagna,^[7] also known as tracta, from Ancient Greek: τρακτὸς.

See also

• Focaccia, a similar bread from Italian cuisine

Notes

1. λάγανον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
2. Kochilas, Diane (1993). The food and wine of Greece (1st pbk. ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-08783-8.
3. "Lagana, Greek Lenten flatbread". Diane Kochilas, Greek Food for Life. 17 March 2013.
4. Hallee Bridgeman (2 September 2013). The Walking Bread the Bread Will Rise!: A Cookbook and a Parody. House of Bread Books. ISBN 9781939603098.
5. "Lagana Bread (λαγάνα)". The Greek Vegan. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
6. "Lagana bread". To Vima. 18 March 2024. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024.
7. "Lasagna" (in Italian). Vocabolario Etimologico di Pianigiani. See more in the tracta (dough) article