Tracta, tractum ( grc, τρακτὸς, τρακτόν), also called laganon, laganum, or lagana () was a kind of drawn out or rolled-out

pastry dough Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

Greek cuisine Greek cuisine ( Greek: Ελληνική Κουζίνα) is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora. In common with many other cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine. It uses vegetables, ol ...

s. What exactly it was is unclear:Charles Perry, "What was tracta?", ''

Petits Propos Culinaires ''Petits Propos Culinaires'' (PPC) is a journal covering the history of food and cookery. History and content Founded by Jane and Alan Davidson in 1979 and first published in 1980, ''Petits Propos Culinaires'' is edited by Tom Jaine and publishe ...

12:37-9 (1982) and a note in 14 "Latin ''tracta''... appears to be a kind of pastry. It is hard to be sure, because its making is never described fully"; Andrew Dalby, ''Food in the Ancient World from A to Z'', , ''s.v.'' 'Pastry', p. 251 and it may have meant different things at different periods. ''Laganon/laganum'' was at different periods an unleavened bread, a pancake, or later, perhaps a sort of pasta. ''Tracta'' is mentioned in the ''

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking'') is a collection of Roman cookery recipes. It is thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. Its language is in many ways closer ...

'' as a thickener for liquids. Vehling's translation of ''Apicius'' glosses it as "a piece of pastry, a round bread or roll in this case, stale, best suited for this purpose." Perry compares it to a " ship's biscuit".Charles Perry, "Old Non-Pasta", ''Los Angeles Times'
March 05, 1997
/ref> It is also mentioned in

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write his ...

's recipe for

placenta cake Placenta cake is a dish from ancient Greece and Rome consisting of many dough layers interspersed with a mixture of cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves, baked and then covered in honey.. The dessert is mentioned in classical texts such ...

, layered with cheese.

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

's '' Deipnosophistae'' mentions a kind of cake called , "known as ", which uses a bread dough, but is baked differently. Some writers connect it to modern Italian

lasagne Lasagna (, also , also known as lasagne, ) is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ...

, of which it is the etymon, but most authors deny that it was pasta.Clifford A. Wright, "The History of Macaroni

/ref> There is a modern Greek leavened flatbread called '' lagana (bread), lagana'', but it is not clear when the name was first applied to a leavened bread.

Notes

{{Reflist Ancient Greek cuisine Roman cuisine Greek cuisine Doughs Ancient dishes