Lavash Armenian Thin Bread Recipes

LAVASH (ARMENIAN THIN BREAD)

Steps:

• Place the tepid water in your electric mixing bowl and add the olive oil, sugar, and yeast. Using the batter blade let the electric mixer blend these very well. It will take about 5 minutes on low speed. Stir in the salt. Gradually add 2 cups of the flour and beat on low speed until a thick and smooth batter forms. Change the blade to a bread dough hook and knead in the additional 2 cups of flour. If you do not have a heavy mixer such as a KitchenAid, incorporate the flour with a wooden spoon and finish the kneading by hand. Kneading should take about 10 minutes in the machine, 20 minutes by hand. Place the dough on a plastic counter top and cover with a large stainless-steel bowl. Allow the dough to rise until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down and divide into equal pieces. Let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch-diameter circle. Working with 2 pieces of dough at a time, arrange breads on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds over tops. Price with a fork many times, all over. Bake on the lowest racks in the oven at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Rotate the pans in the oven from top to bottom, to ensure even browning. Serve dry or wet (To wet, hold the cracker under running water until lightly moistened all over, and then wrap in a moist towel for 10-15 minutes). If the cracker is too dry to roll, it will crack. Sprinkle with a little more water and let stand a few minutes. If it is too wet, cover with a dry towel and let it stand.

LAVASH

Steps:

• Place 2 tablespoons warm water and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand until the yeast is dissolved and foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Make a well in the center and pour the remaining 1 cup warm water into the well. Add the yeast mixture, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, and the butter and stir with a spoon until blended and a dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Shape the dough into a smooth ball.
• Clean the mixing bowl and grease with oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to grease all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Punch down the dough and separate into 4 or more equal-size pieces with your hands. Place a piece of dough on a lightly floured surface, and cover the remaining pieces with plastic wrap. Lightly flour the dough piece and roll it out with light strokes from the center, rotating the dough a little after each stroke. Shape the dough as desired, into a long, very thin, irregular, free-form strip or a neat rectangle. Cut the rectangle into triangles with a pizza cutter. Place the triangles or the irregular strip on an ungreased baking sheet. Mist the dough with water and prick all over with a fork.
• Repeat with another piece of dough and bake until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the crackers over if they are not cooked through (it will depend on how thick they are) and bake 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. While the crackers bake, roll out remaining dough, making only enough crackers to bake immediately after rolling.Nutritional information is based on 1 cracker

LAVASH ARMENIAN THIN BREAD

Steps:

• Place the tepid water in your electric mixing bowl and add the olive oil, sugar, and yeast. Using the batter blade let the electric mixer blend these very well.
• It will take about 5 minutes on low speed.
• Stir in the salt. Gradually add 2 cups of the flour and beat on low speed until a thick and smooth batter forms.
• Change the blade to a bread dough hook and knead in the additional 2 cups of flour.
• If you do not have a heavy mixer such as a KitchenAid, incorporate the flour with a wooden spoon and finish the kneading by hand.
• Kneading should take about 10 minutes in the machine, 20 minutes by hand.
• Place the dough on a plastic countertop and cover with a large stainless-steel bowl.
• Allow the dough to rise until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch the dough down and divide into 8 pieces.
• Let stand, covered, 15 minutes.
• Roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch-diameter circle. Working with 2 pieces of dough at a time, arrange breads on ungreased baking sheets.
• Brush with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds over tops.
• Pierce with a fork many times, all over.
• Bake on the lowest racks in the oven, at 375F, for 8-10 minutes, or until light brown.
• Rotate the pans in the oven from top to bottom, to insure even browning.
• Serve dry or wet. (To wet, hold the cracker under running water until lightly moistened all over, and then wrap in a moist towel for 10-15 minutes.) If the cracker is too dry to roll, it will crack.
• Sprinkle with a little more water and let stand a few minutes.
• If it is too wet, cover with a dry towel and let it stand.

LAVASH CRACKER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the water, whole wheat flour, and yeast until moistened. Mix in the salt and 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Gradually mix in the rest of the flour using a mixer with a dough hook attachment or wooden spoon.
• When the dough comes together, knead in your mixer or on a floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes to make an elastic ball. Add more flour or water if needed to keep dough from getting sticky or too stiff. Pour a little bit of oil in the bowl and turn the dough to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 30 pieces about the size of small walnuts. Rolling the dough into a long log helps to divide it evenly. Roll each piece into a ball and cover with a damp kitchen towel for 30 minutes to rest.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the center rack of the oven so it can preheat at the same time. Do not grease.
• Roll each ball into a circle about 8 inches across. The dough should be paper thin, almost translucent. If they are too thick, they will bubble up like pita breads.
• Pull out the oven shelf and place as many crackers on your baking sheet as you can fit, 2 or 3. Close the oven and bake for about 3 minutes. The crackers should be lightly browned on the top with small bubbles. You may have to adjust your thickness for the next batch.

LAVASH ARMENIAN CRACKER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup of flour(s) with water, yeast and salt and mix until well combined.
• Gradually add the remaining flour, mixing well.
• Add in the oil and honey, adding more water at this time if the dough is too dry, or more flour if the dough is too sticky. The dough is supposed to be very stiff.
• Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (see below), until a stiff, firm ball has formed.
• Allow the dough to rise until doubled in a covered bowl. Time will vary depending on room temperature, but should take approximately 2 hours.
• Knead the dough a second time and roll out until extremely thin.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Spread the dough over a baking sheet and bake at 500 degrees for 3 minutes until the dough is brown.
• NOTE: You can mix knead the bread or use your food processor to knead dough for both kneading stages.