Laganes Bread
A traditional bread made in Cyprus around Green Monday, the day the fasting starts before Easter. The bread is usually eaten with fresh vegetables and fruit. Try using ground fennel if mastika is difficult to get hold of, but any good health food shop should stock it.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon mastika
- 500 g strong white flour plus extra for dusting
- 10 g salt
- 20 g yeast
- 60 ml olive oil
- 300 ml water
- 100 g sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 1½ tablespoons black cumin seeds
Instructions
- Grind the mastika with a mortar and pestle to a smooth powder.
- Put the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and water into a bowl and mix together for 3 minutes.
- Add the mastika powder to the dough, then tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Using your fingers and the heel of your palm, knead for 5 minutes, then put the dough back in the bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, put the sesame, caraway and black cumin seeds into a bowl and pour over just enough warm water to cover.
- Leave for 20 minutes – this balloons the seeds and releases their flavours.
- Line a baking tray.
- Tip the dough out onto your floured surface and divide into two pieces.
- Flatten each piece into an oval shape, 2.
- 5–5 cm/1–2 inches thick, and turn them in the seed mixture until the dough is completely covered, top and bottom.
- Put onto the baking tray and leave to rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
- Using your finger, press holes over the top of the dough, then bake the loaves for 25 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
