Tsoureki (My Greek Dish Easter bread)
Eli K. Giannopoulos’s recipe makes two braided tsourekia with mastic, mahleb and orange, followed by an optional syrup. It is one modern Greek Easter-bread formula, not a universal regional standard.
Modern method
Lagana (Diane Kochilas yeast version)
Λαγάνα · Lagana for Clean Monday · Greek sesame flatbread
Diane Kochilas’s yeast-raised Lagana makes two wide, sesame-topped loaves for Clean Monday. Her Athens-neighborhood version is distinct from the unleavened Lagana also described in the recipe’s cultural context.
A yeast-raised Clean Monday version
Lagana is the broad, flat bread associated with Clean Monday, the start of Lent in Greece. Diane Kochilas distinguishes the unleavened form from a yeast-raised recipe she learned from a local baker in her Athens neighborhood. This recipe records that particular yeast version; it does not make the leavened and unleavened forms into one formula.
The two-loaf batch uses bread flour, active dry yeast, warm water, sugar, salt, olive oil and sesame. Kochilas shapes the dough into two wide ovals, each about 15 by 6 inches, then bakes them until deep golden brown. Lagana is broken off by hand rather than cut with a knife. The recipe gives no weighed yeast-envelope mass, sesame quantity, measured proofing temperature or storage guidance.
Sources for this section
Timing and a source discrepancy
The recipe gives a 15-minute yeast activation, a roughly two-hour first rise and a 45–50-minute final rise. Its method says each loaf bakes for about 30 minutes, while the recipe header lists 60 minutes of cooking for the batch. It does not say whether the two loaves bake in separate rounds, so the method and the header are both recorded without treating the difference as a tested timing rule.
The source asks for a warm, draft-free place but gives no measured proofing temperature. It names a 450°F oven and a deep-golden-brown baking cue. These are the source's home instructions, not a professionally validated internal-temperature or storage specification.
Sources for this section
History
Diane Kochilas describes a traditionally unleavened Lagana and distinguishes her contemporary yeast-raised recipe, learned from a local baker in her Athens neighborhood. This record preserves that yeast-raised formula alone; the source does not establish its first attestation or represent every Greek Clean Monday bread.
Ingredients
Yield 2 wide loaves · Scaling: source batch only
Active dry yeastyeast mixture
3 envelopes
Envelope mass is not stated.Sugaryeast mixture
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
Bread flourdough
Amount not stated
7–8 cups; the method starts with 7 cups and adds more if needed. One quarter cup is used in the yeast mixture.Warm waterdough and yeast mixture
532 mL2¼ cup as recorded
The source lists 2¼ cups total and does not state a separate amount for the yeast mixture.Saltdough
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
44 mL3 tbsp as recorded
Plus more for lubricating the dough and brushing the loaves.Sesame seedstopping
Amount not stated.
Olive oilbaking sheets and dough surface
Amount not stated
Additional amount not stated.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour dough
Flour is raw and uncooked dough should not be tasted.
Hazard sourceDo not taste the raw dough. Bake the loaves before eating, following the source's deep-golden-brown cue.
Control sourceContains wheat and sesame.
The recipe page's header says 60 minutes cooking while the method says about 30 minutes for each loaf; use the source method and verify the loaves are baked through. No numeric internal temperature is provided.
- Dissolve the active dry yeast, sugar and ¼ cup bread flour in the warm water. Cover with a cloth and leave for about 15 minutes, until bubbles begin to form.
- Stir 7 cups bread flour with the salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the olive oil and yeast mixture, then stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients come together.
- Turn the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead for 10–12 minutes, adding some of the remaining flour if needed, until smooth and silky.
- Shape the dough into a ball, rub its surface with additional olive oil and set it in a large covered bowl. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours, until doubled.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6–7 minutes, bringing it back down to its original size. Divide it into two equal balls and shape each into a short loaf about 6 inches long.
- Lightly oil two baking sheets. Use a rolling pin to roll each piece into a flat oval about 15 inches long and 6 inches wide. Set one on each sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Cover the loaves and let them rise until nearly doubled, about 45–50 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450°F (about 230°C) during this rise.
- Bake the loaves for about 30 minutes, until deep golden brown. The recipe page’s method says about 30 minutes for each lagana, while its cook-time panel lists 60 minutes for the batch; the actual instruction does not say whether the loaves are baked in separate rounds. Remove the loaves from the sheets to a wire rack to cool.
Conditions
Yield2 wide loaves
Fermentation3–3.1 h
Temperature232°C
Places
Greece
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe author presents Lagana as a Greek Lenten bread; the page does not locate this formula within a more specific region.
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Sources
Diane KochilasComplete two loaf yeast raised recipe · Greek and Clean Monday context · Method and timing
Lagana (Flat, Wide Lenten Bread)The page says Lagana is eaten on Clean Monday at the start of Lent, traditionally was unleavened, and commercial bakers now use yeast; Kochilas says she learned her recipe from a local baker in her Athens neighborhood.
The batch yields two loaves and lists three envelopes active dry yeast, 1/4 cup sugar, 7–8 cups bread flour, 2 1/4 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon salt, 3 tablespoons extra-virgin Greek olive oil plus extra for handling, and sesame seeds with no amount.
The method calls for a 15-minute yeast mixture, 10–12 minutes kneading, about 2 hours first rise, 6–7 minutes additional kneading, two 15 × 6-inch rolled flat ovals, 45–50 minutes final rise, a 450°F oven and about 30 minutes baking for each loaf until deep golden brown.
The recipe header lists 60 minutes cooking but the method says about 30 minutes for each lagana, without explaining whether baking is sequential. Three yeast envelopes and sesame seeds are not assigned weights, and proofing temperature is described only as warm and draft-free.
Cited in: A yeast-raised Clean Monday version; Timing and a source discrepancy
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationRaw flour and dough safety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowFlour is a raw food and raw dough should not be tasted.