Lavash

Name: Lavash
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 16 large rectangles.
Ingredients: 1 package active dry yeast; 2 cups water; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 3 1/4 cups unbleached flour; 1 3/4 teaspoons salt; 4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds; 3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Submitted by Dancer

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Ready In:: 50mins
Ingredients:: 8
Yields:: 16 large rectangles.

ingredients

1 package active dry yeast
2 cups water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons olive oil
3 ¹⁄₄ cups unbleached flour
1 ³⁄₄ teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3 tablespoons poppy seeds

directions

In small bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar.
Let sit about 10 minutes to proof.
Add oil.
Combine flour and salt in food processor.
With motor running, add yeast mixture through feed tube and process for 20 seconds.
Stop to scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then continue processing to form stiff ball.
Turn dough out onto work surface and knead for a few minutes until dough is smooth.
Place dough in oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in draft-free place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine sesame and poppy seeds in small bowl.
Turn dough out onto work surface, flatten into rectangle and divide into 16 roughly equal pieces.
Cover pieces you are not working with plastic wrap.
On unfloured surface, roll each piece as thin as possible.
Lift it up.
Flip it over.
And roll again until paper thin.
You should have rectangle about 8 by 3 inches.
Peel dough off work top and place on ungreased baking sheet.
Prick holes in dough with fork.
Brush lightly with water and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon seeds.
Repeat with remaining pieces of dough and fit as many pieces as possible on baking sheet without touching.
Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, and cool completely on wire racks.
Repeat until all dough is baked.

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Reviews

Authentic and easy to make. Recipe makes a lot of lavash, luckily we served it at a party. Used it to make a thai-style lavash, copying a recipe from one of my favorite restaurants in Omaha. Thanks for posting!

ChefTroy
Lavash (la VASH - 'a' as in "aah") is a food ethnic to Armenia, Georgia, Kurdistan, and Iran. All these countries have similarly named bread. Before the Genocide, much of Armenian society was in Western Turkey around Lake Van. Armenians consider Mt. Ararat to be a symbol of their nation and Ararat is on either the national seal or flag. The inclusion of this landmark, which in fact is in Turkey, is a minor irritant in the relationship between the two countries which have much deeper problems. Ararat is readily visible from the Armenian capital of Yerevan an a clear day.<br/><br/>The family which hosted me as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gyumri, Armenia supplied local shops with lavash made in their home.<br/><br/>Their version was soft, but the huge difference between what they made and the recipes I am reading was that it was cooked in more of a tandoori oven. There was a chimney maybe 2 foot across and the lavash was stuck onto the inside to cook, one at a time. It probably took less than a minute to cook. After cooking, a bit of water was sprinkled on the bread before it was bagged for delivery. The bread could certainly dry out quickly, but was not cooked as a cracker.

rdtindsm
This recipe was a hit at dinner tonight. I don't know what ethnicity it's supposed to be; I thought it was Iranian because Lavash means bread in Farsi, but my husband said he's never seen anything like it, and he's from Iran. But still, regardless of where the recipe comes from, everyone loved it.

Sappling