Lavash

Recipe by The Big Book of Bread
Not Yet Reviewed

A combination of all-purpose and finely milled ‘00’ flour gives these lavash their pliant texture, which is especially desirable since the oversized flatbreads are typically used to wrap up grilled kebab or vegetables and cheese. Lavash is best known as an Armenian bread, so important to the culture that it was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for Armenia. Of course, like all great recipes, it knows nothing of borders, and you’ll find lavash in the neighboring countries of Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Our thanks to former King Arthur employee-owner Karen Ogrinc for sharing this recipe.

This recipe comes from our forthcoming cookbook, the Big Book of Bread. Pre-order it now!

Prep
35 mins
Total
3 hrs 30 mins
Yield
8 large flatbreads
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Lavash - select to zoom
Lavash - select to zoom
Lavash - select to zoom

Instructions

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  1. To make the preferment: In a medium bowl, combine the yeast, flour, and water, mixing until no dry spots remain and a wet, sticky mixture forms. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour; the preferment will look smoother and some small bubbles will be visible. 

  2. To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Add the flours, oil, salt, yeast, and water to the bowl with the preferment. Mix until a mostly cohesive dough with a few dry bits forms.

  3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and springy, 5 to 8 minutes. The dough will be slightly sticky at first then will smooth out. Add just enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and work surface. Use a bowl scraper or bench knife to scrape up any dough that sticks to your work surface; this will reduce the amount of extra flour you need to add. Cover and let the dough rest for 1 hour. The dough will be relaxed (when pressed with a floured finger it will not spring back) but will not rise much. 

  4. Transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface and divide it into 8 even pieces (about 107g each). Preshape each piece of dough into a loose round and place seam-side down on a lightly dusted work surface. Cover and let rest for 1 hour; this will make it easier to roll out thinly. 

  5. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 500°F with a baking steel or stone on the bottom rack.  

  6. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 13" x 9" oval. As the dough gets thinner, it may resist stretching. If this happens, flour the back of your hands and drape the dough over them. Gently stretch the dough by pushing one hand away from you while pulling the other hand toward you. Stretch the dough as evenly and thinly as possible; the edges will be slightly thicker than the center. Brush off any excess flour. 

  7. When the first flatbread is ready to bake, switch the oven to broil. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured baker’s peel or the back of a baking sheet, then slide it onto the preheated baking steel or stone. Broil for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The dough will blister and puff and light brown spots will appear on top of the bread. Using tongs or a peel, carefully remove the lavash from the oven. Stack the baked lavash on a clean kitchen towel, wrapping to cover. Continue shaping, baking, and stacking the remaining lavash. 

  8. Storage information: Lavash is best eaten the day it's baked. If there are crisp areas on the flatbread after cooling, spritz them lightly with water, cover with a towel, and let them rest 30 minutes. The lavash will absorb the water, soften, and become pliable. Fold any leftovers and store in a plastic bag to keep them soft, up to 2 days.  

Tips from our Bakers

  • To make crisp lavash crackers: Follow the directions above for rolling and stretching the dough (step 6), then bake the lavash until it is covered in brown spots and hard and dry, 2 to 3 minutes. Allow the flatbreads to cool on a wire rack, uncovered. Once cool, break the flatbread into crackers for serving. 

  • Lavash is typically made with a small amount of dough saved from the previous day’s bake (a preferment called pâte fermentée), which adds flavor and improves its keeping quality. But since most home bakers don’t bake lavash daily, we use a simple yeasted preferment. It provides the benefits of the pâte fermentée but is slightly more practical. 

  • In Armenia, lavash is baked in a tonir, a large underground oven that is lined with clay tiles. A wood fire burns at the bottom, and the unbaked lavash are slapped on the walls of the oven, where they bake in minutes, developing their signature leopard spotted appearance. A preheated baking stone or steel and the broiler are a reasonable facsimile of the blistering heat of the tonir.  

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