Hello everyone,
Fresh homemade Greek Lagana bread dipped into rosemary-infused oil, anyone?!? Light and airy, spongy here and crusty there. Covered with aromatic sesame seeds and served hot. Brake the rules and eat the whole loaf right away while hot and irresistibly yummy! You are going to start New Year in a gym anyway fulfilling the most popular workout line in a New Year resolutions list. Let Yourself enjoy this mouthwatering Lagana bread without guilt that is such a treat itself that you might say no to cookies.
How are you doing with your last year’s New Year resolutions? Did you manage to check all the items on your list? I have to admit that I managed to fulfill around 70 % of the list and one promise was made publicly, right here on the New Year menu post. I promised that I am going to start baking bread and working more with dough…Well, technically the year did not finish yet so I still have the time to check that line.
A TIP FOR FULFILLMENT OF THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTION
I have heard somewhere that the best way to fulfill the promises we make to ourselves is to make them publicly with a set deadline. This way we don’t have an opportunity to procrastinate forever. If you are not a blogger like myself, you can post your New Year resolutions at some social media platforms and the watch starts ticking for your own good. I believe in you and I am sure you are going to do everything on your list!
So how about some hot bread now? Do you have any childhood memories of the freshly baked bread? Share them in the comments below, we would be very excited to hear them. I remember when I was around ten years old how I used to go to pick up a loaf of fresh bread at the bakery every day at a certain time (the official time when loaves get out of the oven). I would get a loaf of bread in my hands and it would slightly burn my fingers and the best part of the trip back home was… Did you guess it? The best part was actually eating the bread before it got back on the home table. It was one of the most delicious experiences in my life and its time to recollect the memories by making our own hot, crunchy, spongy and yummy loaf, let’s do this!
The house that is penetrated with the smell of homemade bread is the place where the pursuit of happiness is needless because it’s already there, don’t you agree?
After eating this incredible meal, you will become a pinch happier, I promise!
Bon Appétit!
Lagana bread
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 1/3 cups warm water (make sure its not hot otherwise yeast will be spoiled)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (you can skip olive oil and add 1/4 cup of water instead)
- 1/2 cup flour (for kneading)
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp apricot jam or honey
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare your ingredients
- Combine yeast, sugar, and water and set aside for 10 min. Bubbles should form that means the activation process took place. When no bubbles form, that means that yeast has expired and you should start the process over using fresh yeast
- Mix flour and salt together in a bowl. Add proofed yeast, and mix together to form a sticky dough. Transfer to a floured board and knead for approximately 10 min until the dough becomes elastic, doesn't stick to fingers and holds well in the shape of a ball
- Put your dough in a pot slightly greased with olive oil or dusted with flour. Cover with clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and put in a warm place. Great tip from the author of the recipe. Put your bowl with dough on the top shelf of your *cold* oven and on the shelf below put a baking tray filled with boiling water. Close the door and wait for 1 hour or up to 1 1/2 hours.
- After 1 hour check if the dough is ready. The dough should double in size and bounce back only half-way after gentle press on it. If the dough bounces back right away it needs more time to rise.
- In a bowl knead the dough gently to deflate it, then stretch it and turn it and stretch it again until you form a rectangle. Place it on your tray and make small grooves. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 more minutes
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Meanwhile combine water and apricot jam (or honey) until diluted and brush over the dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and put into the preheated oven for 30 min until golden brown.
- Remove from pan to cool. Let rest for 5 min before slicing. This recipe can be doubled or tripled. Bon Appétit!
