Artun Ünsal, in his book "Nimet geldi ekine" (Blessed is the crop) says that a type of yeasted phyllo bread called "lavash" came from Persia because they call a bread that resembles our pide but a little thinner and longer with the same name.
The famous Turkish pilgrim Evliya Çelebi mentions the word lavash in his book "Seyahatname".
In Azeri lavash means flat bread. This bread is also consumed in Azerbaycan, Kirghizistan, Kazakhstan and Iran on a daily basis. These countries together with Turkey asked for UNESCO recognition for "The culture of making and sharing of flat breads: Lavaş, Jupka, Kartırma and Yufka". Unesco accepted and added this request to the list of humanity's intangible cultural heritage. Armenian flatbread is registered separately with a different cooking technique. Lavash (Flat Bread) is not just a common bread, but it is also a symbol of Anatolian cultures from the past to date.
If flat bread is made just with white flour it is tough, that's why my recipe is more on the whole wheat flour side. You have to cook this bread on high heat, otherwise it dries out.
ingredients
- 200 ml room temp water
- 5 g baker's yeast
- 120 g yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g whole wheat flour
- 100 g flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
preparation
- Crumble yeast into water, stir til yeast dissolves. After 10-15 minutes, the mixture should be foamy to show yeast is alive and active.
- Add yogurt, blend well.
- Whisk in olive oil.
- Sift both flours. add yeasted mix. Knead 2-3 min til dough holds together. Let it rest 15-20 min.
- Sprinkle salt. Knead 10-12 min until the dough is smooth, soft, elastic and not sticky. If need be, you can add 2-3 tbsp whole wheat flour. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise a bit for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
- Punch the dough down, divide into 10 pieces using a dough scraper. Shape the pieces into balls, arrange on a floured surface, sprinkle flour on top. Cover with a cheesecloth, let it rest for 10-15 min.
- Roll each ball one at a time using a rolling pin.
- Heat a large frying pan on high heat. Cook each flatbread for about 2 minutes on one side – a few bubbles should appear. Flip the flatbread over using tongs and then cook for a couple of minutes on the other side. The flatbread should have turned lighter in color and may have a few spots of brown. Put the cooked flatbread on a clean tea towel, spray water on both sides, keep wrapped. Take a sheet of kitchen paper and clean the pan before cooking the next lavash.
- Keep lavash in zipper bag so they stay soft.
- 1 çbk = 1 çorba kaşığı = 1 table spoon = 15 ml
- 1 tsp = 1 tatlı kaşığı = 1 tea spoon = 5 ml
- 1 cup ~ 1 su bardağı = 1 cup = 240 ml
- measurements
- ps: Can keep the dough in the fridge for 24 hours, the taste will improve.
- ps: If you have sourdough discard, add about 100 g to the dough at 4th step, it enriches the taste. Lavash was made with sourdough starter in the olden days.
- ps: Don't be tempted to add more flour, as you knead it gets easier to work.
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