Fluffy Lavash from Caucasus Region
Intro
Flat bread - it is popular all over the world, but every cuisine has their own variety of recipes, their own unique touch that makes their bread stand out. From chapati to tortillas to naan, I love them all. But this bread, or lavash, is especially unique because it is incredibly fluffy and airy! You can sprinkle your favorite seeds on it to give it your own unique flavor. I sprinkled mine with sesame seeds and ajwain seeds. This lavash is very popular among Caucasus region in countries like Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, etc. I love adding my favorite seeds to olive oil and then dipping my lavash in it. Imagine the smell of this amazing lavash baking in your oven - bringing you sense of comfort, coziness and joy. I hope you find this lavash very tasty and I hope you will enjoy the process of its creation.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 kg of all purpose flour (unbleached preferred)
2 tablespoons of dry yeast
3/4 to 1 tablespoon of sea salt (use less if you are using iodized salt)
1 tablespoon of honey (or 1 tablespoon of sugar if you don’t have honey)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
700 ml of water
Optional - for sprinkling you can use sesame seeds, poppy seeds, ajwain seeds or your other favorite seeds
Instructions
Pour out about 1 cup of water from your total water content and add all of yeast and honey to it. Stir and let the mixture rest for 15-20 minutes until it begins to bubble.
After 15 minutes have passed add the yeast mixture to the rest of your remaining water (so you should still have 700ml of water ready for the dough).
Sift the flour and start mixing it with water, little by little until the mixture forms into a uniform ball.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
Then add olive oil to the dough 1 tablespoon at a time. As soon as the dough absorbs the oil, add more until you get to 4 tablespoons.
Let the dough rest rise for about 2 hours. Cover it with moist cloth, plastic, or just leave it in a covered bowl.
After 2 hours, divide the dough into 4 balls. Move the dough balls on parchment paper on baking tray (this will make it easy for working with it). Cover the dough and let it rest (proof) for another 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, wet the top of the dough with few drops of water (or milk/sour cream) just to make it more moist on top. Now start forming lavash by flattening the dough with your hands and fingers as illustrated in the photos below. Do not use a roller.
If you have sesame seeds or anything else to sprinkle the top of the bread, feel free to do so. It will make the flavor even more delicious. Poke the bread with fork few times to prevent it from rising too much.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius). Bake the bread for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven. Now your bread is finished! Enjoy!
