Delicious, easy to make, and beautiful for your holiday table!
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Get the kids involved in making my Christmas tree art bread known as Greek Lagana! It’s similar to Italian focaccia bread and so easy to make. You only need a handful of ingredients for the bread, and you can get creative when creating the decorative Christmas tree. I use rosemary sprigs to form a Christmas tree because they look similar to tree branches. Then, I use cherry tomatoes as ornaments on the tree. Get creative with this! Use your favorite veggies and herbs. The kids will love seeing their creation baked into the bread served at dinner!
Why this will be perfect all year long
Crispy, buttery bottom
Soft bread
Savory baked herbs and veggies
A beautiful and delicious bread for your holiday table that’s easy to make!
Simple ingredients
For the Starter:
- Lukewarm (115 °F) water
- Granulated sugar
- Instant yeast –active dry instant yeast
- All-purpose flour
Remaining Dough Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Olive oil -you have to try the one in our shop made from olives from my family’s trees in Crete!
The Toppings:
- Scallions or chives
- Fresh rosemary sprigs
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
How to make Christmas Tree Art Bread with Greek Lagana
Make the starter
- Combine all of the starter ingredients in the bowl of a tabletop mixer fitted with the hook attachment or mix the ingredients together with a spoon or whisk and set aside for 8-10 minutes.
**Baker’s note! ** A puffy cloud will form on the top of the mixture. If this does not happen, throw away the mixture and start with a different batch of yeast. Yeast rarely goes bad, but when it does, it cannot be used.
Make the dough
- Whisk together the remaining flour and salt in a bowl.
- Add the flour mixture and olive oil to the yeast mixture and knead on low speed for 10 minutes.
**Baker’s note! ** The dough should remain sticky. If it is dry, knead in about ¼ cup more water. Soft, sticky dough will yield light, airy bread.
Creating the bread
- Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover it with plastic.
- Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size –about 11/2 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature.
- Punch down the dough and spread it onto a half-sheet baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise for about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 °F, 220 °C.
- Decorate the top of the bread with your favorite toppings and sprinkle the top with some salt.
- Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes.
My trick for rising the dough quickly
When rising bread dough, you always place it in the warmest area of your house and let it rise until it’s doubled in size. Wet doughs like this one rise much faster than dryer doughs, but I still like to use my dryer trick. I put a couple of clean, dry towels in the dryer for about five minutes on high heat. Then, turn the machine off, remove the towels, and put your bowl inside. The dough will typically double in size within an hour and be ready to use.
Slow rising or make ahead
Yes, you can even make this dough a day ahead and let it rise slowly. Make the dough the night before, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge overnight to rise low and slow. Then, you can use it the next day as soon as it’s doubled in size. This is a great trick to have fresh bread without messing up the kitchen the day of a gathering!
Serving
I bake and serve this bread right out of a cast iron skillet. It looks rustic and festive. However, you can put a board on top of your baking pan, flip the bread out onto the board, and remove the parchment. Flip the bread back over onto the board or place it on a serving platter. A little balsamic vinegar with olive oil would be perfect for dipping. Let me know what you use to create your Christmas tree or art, and enjoy. Kali Orexi!
All things Christmas
- Classic Melomakarona with Semolina: Greek Christmas Cookies
- Gluten-free Greek Christmas Cookies (Almond & Cherry Amygdalota)
- Classic Greek Kourabiedes: Christmas Cookies that Melt-in Your Mouth
- Tsoureki Christmas Tree
- Spanakopita Puff Pastry Christmas Tree Appetizer
Christmas Tree Art Bread (Greek Lagana)
Ingredients
For the Starter:
- 2 cups lukewarm (115 °F) water
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
Remaining Dough Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
The Toppings:
- Scallions or chives
- fresh rosemary sprigs
- grape or cherry tomatoes
Instructions
Make the starter:
Combine all of the starter ingredients into the bowl of a tabletop mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Mix the ingredients together with a spoon or whisk and set aside for 8-10 minutes.
Note:
A puffy cloud will form on the top of the mixture. If this does not happen, throw away the mixture and start with a different batch of yeast. Yeast very rarely goes bad, but when it does, it cannot be used.
Combine the remaining flour and salt in a bowl and whisk together.
Add the flour mixture along with the olive oil to the yeast mixture. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes.
Note:
The dough should remain sticky. If it is dry, knead in about ¼ cup more water. A soft sticky dough will yield a light, airy bread.
Place the dough in an oiled large bowl and cover with plastic. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This usually takes around 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours depending on the temperature.
Punch down the dough and spread it onto a half-sheet baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 °F, 220 °C.
Decorate the top of the bread with your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the top with some salt.
Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with olive oil for dipping and your favorite dips.
Enjoy.
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