Lagana

The story

Lagana is the flatbread Greeks traditionally bake for Clean Monday, Kathara Deftera, the first day of Great Lent. In 2027 it falls on Monday, March 15, 48 days before Orthodox Easter. Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece, dedicated to spiritual and physical purification, and households spend it outdoors with a meal of Lenten foods: lagana, taramosalata, olives, seafood and semolina halva. Kite flying is the other fixture of the day, a custom said to symbolize the soul's ascent to the divine. The bread was once unleavened; today it is usually made with yeast. It stays lean, with no milk, eggs or butter, in keeping with the Lenten fast: bread flour, water, olive oil and salt, stretched out in an oiled pan, brushed with water, covered in sesame seeds and pressed with deep holes before baking. Chef Argiro Barbarigou bakes two laganes from 500 grams of flour and offers tahini in place of the oil, and other cooks add a splash of white wine. Bake it the morning you plan to serve it, and set it out with taramosalata, olives and a bean salad for a meatless Lenten lunch.