Jeffrey Hamelman

Lavash

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Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Dough Yield:

    5

    sheets at .875 lb

Appears in

top 1000Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

Bread

By Jeffrey Hamelman

Published 2004

  • About

Although the Method for Making this Lavash is almost identical to the previous Rosemary Crackers, the flavor is distinctly different. Notably, the modest amount of sugar, the cayenne, the yeast, and the butter give these crackers a totally different flavor than the rosemary and olive oil impart in the preceding recipe. I developed this recipe for use in King Arthur Flourā€™s Whole Grain Baking cookbook as an accompaniment to the Rosemary Crackers.

U.S. Metric Home Bakerā€™s %
Bread Flour .76 lb .347 kg 2.4 oz (Ā½ cup plus Ā½ T) 30%
Pastry Flour .76 lb .347 kg 2.4 oz (ā… cup) 30%
Whole-Wheat Flour 1.02 lb .462 kg 3.3 oz (Ā¾ cup) 40%
Water 1.24 lb .566 kg 4 oz (Ā½ cup) 49%
Sugar .08 lb .035 kg .2 oz (1Ā¼ tsp) 3%
Salt .05 lb .023 kg .1 oz (Ā½ tsp) 2%
Cayenne Pepper .003 lb .001 kg .01 oz (ā…› tsp) .1%
Butter, Soft .44 lb .202 kg 1.4 oz (3 T) 17.5 %
Yeast .04 lb .017 kg .04 oz (Ā½ tsp, instant dry) 1.5 %
Total Yield 4.39 lb 2.000 kg 13.8 oz 173.1 %

Method

  1. Mixing: Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl. In a planetary mixer, mix for 3 minutes on first speed and 3 to 4 minutes on second speed, to moderate gluten development. Desired dough temperature: 75 to 78Ā°F.
  2. Dividing and Shaping: Divide the dough right after mixing into appropriate-sized pieces (the weights at the top of the formula fit full sheet pans in the U.S. and Metric columns, and half sheet pans in the Home column). Cover the dough with plastic and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. The chilling facilitates rolling the dough. Remove the chilled dough and roll to ā…› inch thick at most (about 2 mm on a dough sheeter). Carefully transfer the dough to parchment paperā€“lined sheet pans, trying to avoid creating thin spots from your hands, which could burn in the oven before the rest of the dough is fully baked. Once on the sheet pans, the dough should be docked with the tines of a fork or a dough docker, (if left undocked the dough may balloon in the oven due to the presence of commercial yeast). The dough can also be scored so that after baking it can be easily broken into pieces. Chill the dough again for 30 minutes to relax it before baking. Just before baking, lightly spritz the dough with water and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt, or with seeds such as poppy, sesame, flax, caraway, or fennel. Alternatively, leave the dough as is.
  3. Baking: Bake the flat breads at 420Ā°F for 12 to 14 minutes, until evenly browned and thoroughly baked. Once cooled they can be stored in an airtight container for several days. They can be recrisped by baking in a 350Ā°F oven for a few minutes.

Ā© 2004 All rights reserved. Published by Wiley.