Lavash is a thin type of Middle Eastern flatbread that is not exclusive to one country but considered a regional specialty. It is widely used in Armenia, Iran, and Turkey and also consumed in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. A basic dough, with or without yeast, is a common base for lavash, but each country has a way of eating and serving it. A great accompaniment to saucy preparations, lavash is eaten with meats, cheeses, and vegetables, and is also delicious when eaten just with butter or dipped in olive oil. When yeasted, lavash is great for making wraps.
Although it seems like a lot of work to make a batch of lavash, it really isn't. Our easy recipe for crispy un-yeasted lavash takes 10 minutes of hands-on work when making the dough, a quick proof, and then shaping the bread before baking it in the oven. Lavash also can be found ready-made in most grocery stores sold in either round or rectangularshapes and made from either white or whole-wheat flour.If you can't find prepared lavash at your favorite market, pita bread and naan are good substitutes, although they have a softer, more pillowy texture than lavash.
Serve the homemade flatbread with a cheese board, use it as a pizza crust, make it the base for an open-faced sandwich, or cut it in pieces to scoop out bits and pieces from stews and soups. Some recipes for lavash use yeast and have a softer, chewier texture. The lavash recipe below has a crispy texture similar to a cracker, thus its common name "cracker bread." Serve with eggs, cheese, labneh, or any dips or spreads of your liking.
2 3/4 cups (330 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virginolive oil, divided
Sea salt, optional
Gather the ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
In a smaller bowl, beat together the water, egg, and 1 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil until well mixed.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with flour and mix well. Knead with your hands until the dough comes together, but don't overdo it as the end result will be tough.If too wet, add a teaspoon of flour at a time until the dough comes together.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Split the dough into 2 balls. Let the balls of dough rest, covered, for at least as long as it takes for the oven to heat, or ideally for 30 to 40 minutes.
Lightly grease 2 un-rimmed cookie sheets with some of the remaining olive oil. Place the cookie sheets on a flat surface with a towel underneath so they don't slip. Place one ball of dough on each cookie sheet and roll the dough out as thin as possible, the thinner the dough, the crispier the flatbread.
Brush each flatbread with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the flatbread is lightly browned and crispy.
Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Enjoy.
Pizza Stone or Skillet Lavash
If you'd rather use your pizza stone or a skillet, simply divide the dough into 8 balls before resting it for 40 minutes. Flatten each ball by rolling it out with a rolling pin and keep it moist by covering the discs with a damp towel:
- Preheat the pizza stone while the oven reaches 400 F and for at least one hour.
- Place one or two discs on the hot stone and close the oven quickly. The smaller size takes a lot less time to cook so stay close to the oven, turning once until the discs are crispy on the bottom.
- If using a skillet, preferably cast iron, heat up to the smoking point and pan-fry each disc until bubbly and slightly brown on both sides, approximately one minute per side.
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| Nutrition Facts (per serving) |
|---|
| 260 | Calories |
| 6g | Fat |
| 44g | Carbs |
| 7g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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| Nutrition Facts |
|---|
| Servings: 6 |
|---|
| Amount per serving |
| Calories | 260 |
| % Daily Value* |
| Total Fat 6g | 8% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol 31mg | 10% |
| Sodium 367mg | 16% |
| Total Carbohydrate 44g | 16% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 6% |
| Total Sugars 0g |
| Protein 7g |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 14mg | 1% |
| Iron 3mg | 16% |
| Potassium 73mg | 2% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Recipe Tags:
- flatbread
- middle eastern
- party
- bread
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FAQs
Lavash is a fully baked flatbread that is usually lower in sodium, less doughy and chewy, and generally contains less oil. Lavash's rectangular shape makes it easier to fit in lots of good stuff inside when you're making wraps.
What is special about lavash bread? ›
Lavash is commonly served rolled around local cheeses, greens or meats, and can be preserved for up to six months. It plays a ritual role in weddings, where it is placed on the shoulders of newlyweds to bring fertility and prosperity.
Can you make lavash in the oven? ›
To make lavash bread in a griddle or a pan, heat the griddle over high heat, then cook the lavash for two minutes on each side. To make lavash on a pizza stone, preheat your oven at 430F for one hour. Lower the heat to 375F. Place the lavash on a pizza stone then bake for 4 to 5 minutes.
Is lavash healthier than bread? ›
Lavash Bread. Our signature Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Lavash breads are one of the healthiest bread options around, with the same great taste you've grown to love from Joseph's!
What's the difference between thin crust and flatbread? ›
However, in most culinary circles, it is generally agreed-upon that the main difference is that flatbread is thinner and crispier than pizza crust. According to some, even thin-crust pizza should be thicker and chewier than flatbread, which should have a much more crusty, crumbly texture.
What flour is lavash made from? ›
So I cobbled together a basic testing recipe of high-protein all-purpose flour with a little whole wheat (for flavor and color; many lavash breads use whole wheat flour), water, and salt.
What do you eat lavash with? ›
Serve with dips like creamy whipped feta, hummus, muhammara, tirokafteri—the list goes on. You really can't go wrong with a good dip and homemade bread. Lavash is also makes for a great side to–or better yet, bed for–meat, like kebabs or meatballs.
What is the difference between lavash and lavosh? ›
Lavosh (or lavash as it's sometimes spelled) is a type of flat bread that is baked until it's crispy. It's generally made of wheat flour, water and salt and served thin and crispy. It's a part of many middle eastern cuisines. Lavosh is made without yeast or leaven so it's typically seen as a type of flat bread.
Does lavash bread need to be refrigerated? ›
We strongly recommend refrigerating or freezing them upon receipt.
How to make food crispier in oven? ›
Keep the oven shut as much as possible to reach cooking temperature faster. Use a perforated sheet tray. This helps hot air circulate more easily among the fries, increasing crispness. Don't thaw your fries before baking.
Pre-bake the lavash bread for a few minutes to crisp it up before adding toppings. This helps it to stay crisp and prevent it from getting soggy. Another way to help prevent soggy pizza is to go lighter on the sauce than you would a regular pizza.
What culture eats lavash? ›
It's considered a treasure of Armenian cuisine, though it's also widely popular in Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey – and is part of the cuisine elsewhere too. The making of lavash probably goes as far back as the human history of baking. It's a bread that's so much more than a simple combination of ingredients.
What is the most unhealthiest bread in the world? ›
The Least Nutritious Breads
- White Bread. White bread doesn't rank too high when it comes to nutrition. ...
- Specialty Breads: Ciabatta, Pita, Focaccia and Brioche. Most specialty-style breads, like ciabatta, pita bread, focaccia and brioche are made with refined white flour.
With dozens of loaves lining the shelves, here are our top picks of the healthiest bread:
- Rye bread. ...
- 100% wholemeal wheat bread. ...
- Buckwheat bread. ...
- Spelt bread. ...
- Sourdough. ...
- Soda bread. ...
- Flaxseed (linseed) bread. ...
- Porridge oat bread. Made with wheat flour, yeast, water and salt with the addition of oats or even leftover porridge.
Lavash and pita bread are both flatbreads, but they come from different regions and have some differences in texture and preparation. Lavash is a soft, thin unleavened flatbread that originated in Armenia and is also common in other parts of the Caucasus and the Middle East.
Is lavash flatbread healthy? ›
The signature Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat lavash breads are one of the healthiest bread options around, with the same great taste you've grown to love from Joseph's!
What's the difference between lavash and pita? ›
Lavash, meet Pita. Lavash is thinner and larger: As you've probably gathered by now, Lavash is incredibly thin, almost like a sheet of paper. In contrast, pita bread is thicker and often pocket-shaped, creating a perfect vessel for stuffing ingredients inside.
Why is it called lavash bread? ›
He remarks that semantically this is conceivable since this bread is specifically flat and thin. Sevan Nişanyan connects the Persian word for lavash to the Aramaic לושׁ lwš root meaning 'to knead' and recorded al-Faraj ba'd ash-Shiddah from 1451 as the oldest text to use the term in Turkish.
