Chef Dimitra
Arkatena Omodous (Αρκατένα Ομόδους)
Omodos arkatena are Cypriot chickpea-leavened rusks, pale inside and sesame-studded, baked once as little rings and again until they crack clean under the tooth and keep beautifully.
Culinary Explorer
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Ladenia Kimolou (Λαδένια Κιμώλου)
Created by
Kimolos gives this flatbread its surname: soft olive-oil dough, ripe tomato, sweet onion, oregano, and enough good oil to crisp the bottom properly.
Breads
Greek
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Picnic
25 min
Active Time
40 min cook•2 hr 5 min total
Yield6 servings
Ladenia Kimolou is the olive-oil flatbread of Kimolos, with Milos making its own close sister across the water. It is dough pressed into a well-oiled tapsi, covered with ripe tomato, onion, oregano, and more oil, then baked until the bottom is crisp and the top is soft and fragrant.
The oil is not decoration here. It is the method. Oil the pan generously and oil the top generously, because the dough almost fries underneath while the tomato and onion settle into it from above. Use too little and you get dry bread with vegetables on it. Use enough and you get ladenia, named honestly from ladi, oil.
This is nistisimo, fasting food, and nobody needs to improve it with cheese. Eat it warm or at room temperature, cut in squares, with olives or a cucumber beside it. The region is the dish's surname, and Kimolos wrote this one in oil.
Ladenia belongs to Kimolos in the Cyclades, with a closely related tradition on neighboring Milos, where home ovens and communal bread ovens made oil-rich doughs practical everyday food. Its name comes from ladi, the Greek word for oil, which separates it from cheese-topped pies and from later comparisons to pizza. The dish sits naturally in the Orthodox fasting table, since the old recipe needs no dairy, eggs, or meat.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
strong bread flour
Quantity
500g
plus a little for dusting
instant dry yeast
Quantity
7g
fine sea salt
Quantity
8g
sugar
Quantity
5g
lukewarm water
Quantity
320ml
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
120ml
divided
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
2 large, about 450g
thinly sliced or coarsely grated
red onions
Quantity
2 medium, about 250g
thinly sliced
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
2 teaspoons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for the topping
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| strong bread flourplus a little for dusting | 500g |
| instant dry yeast | 7g |
| fine sea salt | 8g |
| sugar | 5g |
| lukewarm water | 320ml |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oildivided | 120ml |
| ripe tomatoesthinly sliced or coarsely grated | 2 large, about 450g |
| red onionsthinly sliced | 2 medium, about 250g |
| dried Greek oregano | 2 teaspoons |
| fine sea saltfor the topping | 1/2 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •round metal tapsi, 32cm, or rectangular baking pan, 30 by 40cm
- •wide spatula for checking the underside
Instructions
- 1
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the lukewarm water and 30ml of the olive oil, then mix until a rough dough forms. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, by hand or mixer, until smooth, elastic, and a little tacky, not stiff.
- 2
Let it rise
Shape the dough into a ball, rub it with a little oil, cover the bowl, and leave it in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled. Good olive oil, and patience. The dough should feel alive and light under your fingers.
- 3
Oil the tapsi
Pour 50ml olive oil into a 32cm round metal tapsi or a 30 by 40cm baking pan. Set the risen dough into the oil and press it gently toward the edges. If it pulls back, leave it 10 minutes and press again. This rest is not fussiness, it lets the dough relax instead of fighting you.
The generous oil underneath is what crisps the bottom. A dry pan gives you bread, not ladenia. - 4
Add the topping
Scatter the onions over the dough, then add the tomatoes with their juices. Sprinkle with oregano, the topping salt, and black pepper. Drizzle the remaining 40ml olive oil over everything, especially the edges, where it will bake into a crisp rim.
- 5
Bake the ladenia
Heat the oven to 200C. Bake on the lower-middle rack for 35 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened, the onions have browned at the tips, and the underside is deep golden when lifted with a spatula.
- 6
Rest and cut
Let the ladenia rest in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature, in squares or rough wedges, with the oil still glossy on the tomato and onion.
Chef Tips
- •Use tomatoes only when they smell like tomatoes. Out of season, I would rather make eliopita or a plain olive-oil bread than pretend a hard winter tomato can carry Kimolos on its back.
- •Do not add feta and still call it the old ladenia. Cheese may taste good, yes, many things taste good, but this dish is oil, tomato, onion, oregano, and bread.
- •Ladenia travels well. Wrap pieces once cool and take them to the beach, to work, or to a fasting table with olives, cucumber, and a little vinegar-dressed cabbage.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can rise slowly in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours; bring it to room temperature for 45 minutes before pressing it into the oiled pan.
- •Bake the ladenia up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered at room temperature. Refresh pieces in a 180C oven for 8 minutes if you want the bottom crisp again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 225g)
Calories
500 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
730 mg
Total Carbohydrates
68 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
12 g
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