Gluten Free Lagana Bread Recipe

Gluten Free Lagana Bread Recipe today on the blog.

Every year on Clean Monday, which is today March 18th we enjoy this delicious lagana bread. I made my first ever YouTube video years ago, which is on Lagana bread. 🙂
For the last 7 weeks or so I have been gluten free to maintain a healthy lifestyle while battling my underactive thyroid. I have been baking up some tasty gluten free Greek breads so here’s one you can try. I hope you enjoy!

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Gluten- Free Lagana Bread Recipe

Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of lukewarm water (important)
• 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey
• 2 1/4 cups of gluten free flour measure to measure (I like King Arthur’s brand)
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• Optional: Sesame seeds for the top

Method:

1. Warm your water first and then whisk together the water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside until bubbly.
2. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients together. Flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture, pour the olive oil and the vinegar and combine with a wooden spoon or spatula. At this point you will have a wet shaggy dough.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for half an hour in room temperature.
5. Take a baking sheet with baking parchment on top, drizzle some olive oil and place the dough on top. Shape the dough in oval shape and keep the thickness almost into 1.5 inch. Make small holes with your fingers all over the lagana bread and sprinkle some sesame on top. Do not flatten the dough as this will result in a very dense and not baked bread. Let the dough sort of shape itself. Rest the dough covered in plastic wrap for about 10 minutes in a warm place.
6. When ready to bake drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top and brush the oil with a pastry brush. Add the sesame seeds if you like and then cook in the middle rack at 425 degrees F for about 25-38 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wired rack.
7. Enjoy with various dips, dips, olives, and more.

Kali sarakosti!

Tips & Tricks

Why apple cider vinegar?
It acts as a great leavening agent in this recipe.

Why olive oil?
For good texture and flavor. This bread is also very similar to focaccia, which traditionally calls for olive oil.

Don’t stretch the dough too much.
Overworking it can result in a dense bread. Let the dough shape itself naturally.

Don’t underbake the bread.

Dough thickness:
Aim for about 1½ inches.

Flour recommendation:
King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour is my all-time favorite.

Rise expectations:
The rise won’t be like traditional bread’s “double” rise, and that’s okay. As long as you get some lift, the bread will turn out well.

Oil alternatives:
If you prefer not to use olive oil, vegetable oil or avocado oil works just fine.

Happy baking!