Lagana with honey is traditionally the sweet bread, scented with various spices, which is soaked in syrup and offered for forgiveness.
It is a very fluffy white bread, characterized by the aroma of anise and honey, made for funerals and the Saturdays of the Souls.
It has nothing to do with the lagana we usually eat on Clean Monday.
In Niata, Laconia, lagana with honey is made on the day of a person’s funeral and offered to the people immediately after the burial.
My mother always makes lagana on the two Saturdays of the Souls each year: the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday and the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday.
However, she also tends to make lagana on the anniversary of the day when a loved one of the family passed away.
The recipe for sweet lagana is made with fresh yeast; nevertheless, my mother also strengthens the dough with baking powder so that the dough, which is heavy because of the olive oil, rises better and more.
If you do not want to use both of these ingredients, choose only the yeast; the lagana will turn out just as good, simply a little sturdier.
It is also very fitting to add the aroma of Chios mastic.
Crush a few “tears” of mastic in a mortar together with sugar to flavor the lagana. In that case, however, omit the clove and reduce the amount of cinnamon.
Ingredients (for a 32 cm pan)
- 700 g all-purpose flour
- 200 g sugar
- 180 ml olive oil
- 1 packet baking powder (optional)
- 1 packet vanilla
- 1 level tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 level teaspoon clove
- 1 tablespoon anise
- 1 level teaspoon salt
- 40 g fresh yeast
- enough water to make a soft dough, depending on the flour quality (about 400–450 ml)
Ingredients for the honey syrup
- 300 g sugar
- 300 ml water
- 200 ml honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
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Instructions
Pour the water into a bowl. Add the yeast. Dissolve it with a spoon. Add a little of the sugar as well, about 2 tablespoons. Stir.
Add 3 heaped tablespoons of flour as well. Stir well until you have a batter.
Cover the bowl with a towel and leave it aside to rise; we want it to double in volume.
In a large basin, add the sugar, olive oil, salt, anise, cinnamon, clove, and vanilla. Mix well with a whisk.
Pour the risen yeast mixture into the bowl with the spices, stirring continuously.
Gradually add the flour while gently kneading by hand. At this point, we can also add the baking powder.
My mother adds baking powder as well as yeast because the dough becomes heavy due to the olive oil, and in this way she helps it rise more easily and more fully.
Knead the dough. The dough should be soft and tender, not like bread dough.
Grease a baking pan well with olive oil. Sprinkle the bottom with sesame seeds.
Spread the dough in the pan, sprinkle plenty of sesame seeds on top, and press with your palms so it spreads out and covers the whole pan.
Cover with a clean towel and leave it to rise. We want it to double in volume.
Bake with top and bottom heat at 180°C for about 1 hour.
Let it cool.
Prepare the syrup.
In a small saucepan, pour in the water and sugar and add the cinnamon as well. Boil for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, score the lagana into square pieces or diamond shapes.
Pour the honey into the warm syrup and stir well. Let it cool slightly.
Pour the syrup over the lagana with a ladle.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
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