An Ancient Greek Pizza known as Ladenia Kimolou that’s so delicious, we’re still making it!
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The ancient Greek pizza known as Ladenia Kimolou is the original pizza made by the beautiful people of Kimolos island in Greece. It has a flatbread base with vegan toppings. No dairy, cheese, or feta. It’s so flavorful, delicious, and can be served in so many different ways. It’s easy to make, and I can’t wait for you to try it!
You’ll want to make this every week!
- Crispy crust
- Soft bread center
- Caramelized onions with sweet roasted tomatoes
- Can be the entrée or a side!!
What is the best pan to use for Ladenia Kimolou?
I love how beautiful the pizza looks when it comes out of a round pan, so I use a 12-inch round pan. I’ve also used a half sheet baking pan or a 9 x 13-inch pan.
I first tested this recipe in my cast-iron skillet (10.25-inch) because it creates a crispy crust, and I also love its aesthetic. What I didn’t love was how thick it turned out. It looked more like a cake than bread. So, if you’re going to bake your ladenia in a cast-iron pan, keep that in mind. You could also use less dough and save the rest for mini flatbreads.
This is why Ladenia Kimolou is so good
- Lukewarm water
- Granulated sugar
- Active dry yeast
- All-purpose flour
- Bread flour
- Salt – Salt is a big yeast killer. Never put salt directly into your yeast water.
- Olive oil –use a good quality since it flavors your bread
The toppings:
- Tomatoes sliced into wedges
- Red onion
- Olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Dried crushed oregano
How to prepare the yeast
You’ll start by dissolving the yeast in 2 cups of lukewarm water with sugar and a little all-purpose flour. The sugar and flour will feed the yeast to help it get started. Rarely will your yeast be bad. However, if you don’t take this step to make sure your yeast is active, you may have to throw everything out, wasting all of your ingredients. So, you don’t want to skip this step.
Set it aside for about 8-10 minutes until the mixture gets foamy. If it doesn’t foam or have a cloud on top, start again with new yeast. If it does foam, that’s how you know your yeast is good, your bread will rise, and it will be nice and fluffy.
How to make the Ancient Greek Pizza Ladenia Kimolou
- In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that has been fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the water, yeast, sugar, and 1/4 cup of flour.
- Mix it together and let it sit for 8-10 minutes to proof. The yeast is ready when it forms a cloud at the top of the mixture.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the bread flour and salt.
- Once the yeast is ready, add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and the quarter cup of olive oil. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it aside in the warmest part of your home to rise until doubled in volume. About 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F, 200 °C.
- Grease a 12-inch (30 cm) round pan or a 9 x 13-inch baking tray with olive oil.
- Spread the dough onto the prepared pan and set it aside while you prepare the topping.
- Add the tomato and onion to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Toss together and place the veggies on top of the dough.
- Bake on the center rack for 35-40 minutes.
- Allow the bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving
Topping Options
These are the traditional toppings for Ladenia Kimolou, but I make it with different toppings every time. Use what you love and what you have on hand. Try a different onion, roasted red peppers, olives, feta cheese. The sky is the limit here!
Serving
There are so many different ways to serve this ancient Greek pizza! First, it can be served hot or at room temperature. It’s delicious either way. I like to cut it on a cutting board into wedges, especially when using a round pan. It looks so pretty. Cut it however you like, though.
Second, you don’t have to serve this as a delicious pizza meal with a side salad. I want to eat this in the morning with some eggs, or you could even use it as dipping bread for a stew! It’s so versatile. Let me know how you serve it!
More Bread Recipes:
- Greek Feta Bread: Tiropsomo: Soft & Delicious!
- Homemade Greek Olive Bread
- Koulouria Thessaloniki’s: Greek Bread Rings
- The Softest Pita Pocket Recipe: The Oven Method
Ancient Greek Pizza from the Island of Kimolos: Ladenia Kimolou
Ingredients
- 2 cups water, lukewarm
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups (615g) bread flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- The toppings:
- 1-2 tomatoes sliced into wedges
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried crushed oregano
Instructions
In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that has been fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the water, yeast, sugar, and the 1/4 cup of flour. Whisk it together and let it sit for 8-10 minutes to proof. The yeast is ready when it forms a cloud at the top of the mixture.
In a large mixing bowl, add the bread flour and salt and mix them together.
Once the yeast is ready, add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl along with the quarter cup of olive oil and knead on low speed for 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it aside in the warmest part of your home to rise until doubled in volume. About 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 °F, 200 °C.
Grease a 12-inch (30 cm) round pan or a 9 by 13-inch baking tray with olive oil.
Spread the dough onto the prepared pan and set aside while you prepare the topping.
Add the tomato and onion to a bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Toss together and place the veggies on top of the dough.
Bake on the center rack for 35-40 minutes.
Allow the bread to cool for 5-10 minutes and serve. Kali Orexi!
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Anxious to learn from you
Bravo. This works well and I have made a similar one many times and infact had one for breakfast today but added different peppers, hot chilli and olives.
BUT for the Italian folk out there, no offence but your ancestors did NOT invent Pizza. I learned this fact from 2 great Australian TV chefs decades ago
Thanks for the recipie. It’s not really ancient, there were no tomatoes in Greece before Columbus. Made it this evening, because we had no tomato sauce, but fresh tomatoes. The dough is sticky and tastes differently from regular pizza. The onions caramelized niceley. We added small chunks of goat cheese and black dried olives.