Crisp, soft bread with sweet, smokey, salty, herb flavor!

My twist on lagana bread, a Greek flatbread, is filled with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs. In Greek tradition, lagana bread is always made on Clean Monday, which marks the beginning of Lent and Spring in Greece. I’ve had this version of lagana on my channel for about three years. However, because I like it even better than the plain version, I wanted to update it for you. I fill it and top it with some of my favorite things, and it’s so delicious. The sesame seeds and herbs on top make it look beautiful, too. You’re going to want this every day!
Why you’ll want this every day
Crisp outside
Pillowy soft inside
Sweet, smoky sun-dried tomatoes
Briney, meaty kalamata olives
Fresh herb
The perfect combination of crisp, soft bread and salty, sweet, herb flavor!
Everything you need
For the starter
- Lukewarm (115 °F) water
- Granulated sugar
- Instant yeast
- Bread flour
Remaining Ingredients
- Bread flour
- Salt
- Olive oil -try the one in our shop straight from Crete!
- Lukewarm water
- Fresh rosemary -sub dried if that’s what you have
- Fresh chopped basil leaves -sub dried if that’s what you have
- Kalamata olives -sub black or green if you prefer
- Sun-dried tomatoes -packed in olive oil and chopped
- Black sesame seeds for the top -white or leave them off
Optional fillings
- scallions
- caramelized onions
How to make Lagana Bread, a Greek flatbread filled with olives, sun-dried tomatoes & herbs
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 about 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 7 minutes. If kneading by hand, increase the kneading time to 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the dough and knead it for one more minute.
**Baker’s note! ** The dough should remain sticky. If it is dry, knead in about ¼ cup more water. A 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 cut it into two equal portions.
- Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
- Using your fingertips or a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough into a rectangle about the same size as the pan, about 10 inches x 14 inches.
**Baker’s tip!** Rectangular shapes are common, but this rustic bread can be shaped however you like.
- Place on the parchment-lined baking tray and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
- Set aside to rise for about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 °F, 220 °C.
- Place a cast iron skillet (or baking pan) on the bottom rack of the oven to warm up while the oven is preheating.
- After 30 minutes, using your fingertips, press into the dough to make indentations in the dough.
- Brush the dough with water and sprinkle sesame seeds and/or herbs on top.
- Pour a cup of ice water into the warmed cast iron skillet on the bottom rack.
- Then, bake the trays one at a time on the center rack.
**Baker’s tip!** Use a pizza stone or ceramic tile on the center rack to help create bakery-style bread. Just make sure to place the stone in the oven while it is preheating to avoid cracking. I leave my stone inside the oven at all times.
- Place the tray onto the center rack (or the pizza stone) and bake until the bread is golden -about 15 minutes.
- Allow the bread to rest for about 8-10 minutes before serving.
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 few 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.
Serving
Who says you can’t make fabulous bread at home? I love how the black sesame seeds and herbs make this bread so beautiful. It’s pretty enough to serve as a first course with soft roasted garlic in olive oil. You could even drizzle the top with a little balsamic dressing or vinegar for an extra pop of flavor. It would go with any Greek-style dish if you’d like to serve it with a meal. Try it with a Mediterranean Lemony White bean salad or Mediterranean Chickpea Salad for lunch or Greek Lamb and Cabbage Stew for dinner. Honestly, I can just eat it as a snack all by itself! Kali Orexi!

LAGANA BREAD: GREEK FLATBREAD FILLED WITH OLIVES, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES, & HERBS
Ingredients
For the starter:
- 1 cup lukewarm (115 °F) water
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup bread flour
Remaining Ingredients:
- 3 and ¾ cups (565 grams) bread flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- ¾ - 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- ¼ cup fresh chopped basil leaves
- 1/3 cup chopped Kalamata olives
- 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- Black sesame seeds for the top
Optional fillings:
- scallions, caramelized onions
Instructions
- Note:
- The dough for this recipe can be prepared in a table top stand mixer or in a large bowl and kneaded by hand. If kneading by hand, increase the kneading time to 10 minutes.
- 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 25-30 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 different 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 and remaining water to the yeast mixture. Knead on low speed for 7 minutes. Add the chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the dough and either knead it 1 more minute in the machine or by hand.
- 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 cut into 2 equal portions.
- Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
- Using your fingertips or a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough into a rectangle about the same size of the pan, about 10 inches by 14 inches.
- This is a rustic bread, so shape it however you like. Rectangular shapes are very common.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 °F, 220 °C.
- Place a cast iron pan (or a baking pan) on the bottom rack of the oven to warm up while the oven is preheating.
- It is also a good idea to keep a pizza stone on the rack that the bread will bake on. (center rack)
- If you do not have a pizza stone, a ceramic tile will do the trick. Just make sure to keep it in the oven while it is preheating. Placing a cold stone/tile in a hot oven will cause it to crack. I leave my stone inside the oven at all times.
- The cast iron pan along with the pizza stone/ceramic tile will create bakery style bread.
- After 30 minutes, using your fingertips, press into the dough to create the characteristic dimples of lagana bread.
- Brush the dough with water and sprinkle sesame seeds or your favorite herbs on top.
- Bake the trays one at a time.
- Place the tray onto the pizza stone/tile and bake for 15 minutes or until the bread is golden.
- Allow the bread to rest about 8-10 minutes then serve.
- Enjoy!
Brilliant easy Recipe for Lagana Thank you Dimitra
I’m confused about how to use the cast iron pan. Thinking I put the bread on the pizza stone, but where do I pu the cast iron pan? Do you put hot water in it?