Gaby
“Crosses” made from unleavened dough—cookies, cakes, or bagels—are traditionally baked during Mid-Lent, the fourth week of Great Lent and its midpoint. Folklore held that at midnight from Wednesday to Thursday you could hear a crack—that’s when Lent was said to break in half. These ceremonial cross-shaped cookies were served not only on Wednesday, which divides Great Lent into two halves, but on other midweek days. They were traditionally baked up to the Sunday of the Cross, which precedes Mid-Lent (in 2025, that Sunday falls on March 23). Folklore says walnut or poppy-seed “crosses” served on the Sunday of the Cross and during Mid-Lent were thought to ward off misfortune from the family.
Ingredients: flour – 1 cup; honey – 150 g; raisins – a handful; vegetable oil (refined sunflower) – 2 tablespoons; nuts – 50 g; lemon – 1; water – 100 ml + 3 tablespoons; baking soda – ½ teaspoon; baking powder – ½ teaspoon; ground ginger – a pinch; salt – a pinch.
Combine the poppy seeds with 1 tablespoon of honey, add 100 ml of water, cover, and place over heat. Steam under the lid for 10 minutes until the water evaporates. Grind the poppy seeds in a mortar until they form a milky paste and release their aroma. Combine the ground poppy with the flour using your hands.
Mix the chopped nuts with honey. Gradually add the oil and the flour mixed with poppy seeds. Squeeze the juice from the lemon (you should get about 2–3 tablespoons), add the grated lemon zest and the ginger. Mix everything well with your hands. Stir in the baking powder, the baking soda neutralized with 1 tablespoon of acidic water, and the salt. Mix thoroughly again.
Add another 2 tablespoons of water and knead the dough until it is pliable and not sticky to your hands. If the dough is crumbly, add a little more water and knead until it reaches the desired consistency. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough into a thin layer (about 0.5 cm thick) and cut it into strips, stacking them on top of each other to form crosses. Place the cookies on a baking sheet greased with sunflower oil. Put raisins in the center of each cross or along the edges, pressing them into the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10–15 minutes until lightly golden.
Life Hack
In ancient times during Mid-Lent people baked not only “crosses” but also cookies shaped like plows, harrows, or sickles. Modern home bakers can honor those old traditions by making ritual pastries in the form of agricultural tools. The main rule: the baked goods must be vegan, so do not use eggs, butter, milk, or any other animal products.
