LAVASH BREAD
Notes: Lavash is a versatile flat bread that has thousands of years of history in the Middle East and the Caucasus. This yeasted bread also incorporates olive oil for suppleness and flavor. This recipe is is a tasty one that uses both AP flour and whole wheat flour. I specifically used Einkhorn whole wheat flour because it has a nutty flavor and is an ancient wheat variety that has never been hybridized and has lower gluten forming content than modern wheat. I like to roll out the lavash very thin, a few mm maximum. I trim the lavash into rectangles after they’re done. You don’t have to trim the lavash, but doing so makes them look much neater for wraps. As usual, I weighed the ingredients so I suggest using a digital kitchen scale, but I’ve also provided cup measurement approximations.
An egg breakfast wrap idea: 7 min 20 sec hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, chopped romaine (dressed with a dressing of Greek yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper), walnuts on top, a drizzle of olive oil and feta cheese crumbles (not shown).
Special equipment:
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Rolling pin
Griddle, flat cooktop, or extra large pan
Total time: 2-2.5 hours
Ingredients:
Active dry yeast: 1 tsp
Granulated sugar: 1 and 1/2 tbsp (20 g)
Water: 1 cup (240 mL)
Salt: 3/4 tsp *I used pink Himalayan
Whole wheat flour: 3/4 cup (95 g) *I used Einkhorn whole wheat flour
AP flour: 2 and 1/4 cup (315 g)
Extra virgin olive oil: 1/4 cup (48 g)
Semolina flour (for dusting)
Directions:
Warm the cup of water and stir together the active dry yeast and sugar and let sit for 7-10 mins until a little foamy and you can see tiny bubbles rising to the top.
In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment add together the flours and salt and mix on low while slowly adding the yeasty water (make sure to scrape sugar that has settled in the bottom of the water into the dough), then drizzle in the olive oil.
Knead the dough with the hook attachment for 5-7 mins. Make sure the dough is well incorporated and there are no dry bits of flour left.
Remove the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise for 1.5 hours (or until roughly doubled in size). I proofed the dough at 85 F, so if you’re proofing at a lower temperature you may need to go to 2 hours.
Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a work surface or counter dusted with semolina flour. Roll it into a log and divide into 6 equal pieces. *This is a sticky dough so the semolina not only adds a nice texture to the surface, but keep the dough from sticking.
Roll out each piece of dough to approximately 3 mm in thickness. Dust each piece (as needed) with more semolina to keep the rolling pin from sticking to the dough.
Place each sheet of dough on a piece of parchment paper dusting with more semolina flour (as needed) to keep from sticking.
Heat a flat cooktop, griddle, or large pan over medium-high to high heat. Cook each sheet until brown spots develop (about 1 min per side). If it’s taking longer your cooking surface is not hot enough. I measured the surface temp of my griddle and it was ~390 F.
As each piece of lavash is finished place them under a slightly damp towel so they can steam a little and remain supple.
Lavash is best eaten the day of but you can keep them for longer in a sealed plastic bag in your fridge. When ready to use for a wrap just reheat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. *If you toast them they will become crispy rather than soft (but this is great for a quick extra thin pizza).
Adding olive oil to the dough.
Roll each piece of dough (dusted with semolina) to ~3mm thickness after proofing.
Cook for ~1 min per side on a hot griddle or cooktop (or large pan).