Lavash Bread Recipe

If you’ve ever been to a Middle Eastern aliases Mediterranean restaurant, chances are you’ve had lavash. Similar to pita, it’s nan go-to breadstuff for serving pinch kebabs, dips, and salads. Growing up successful Turkey, I learned early connected that you simply don’t eat kebab without a portion of lukewarm lavash.

Yes, you tin find it astatine nan store, but erstwhile you sensation a freshly cooked, puffed-up lavash consecutive from nan skillet, there’s nary going back. And nan champion part? It’s easier to make than you think.

In this post, I’ll locomotion you done nan step-by-step process of making lavash bread, complete pinch foolproof tips and troubleshooting advice, truthful you tin confidently make it astatine location anytime.

Essential Ingredients for Lavash Bread

The accepted lavash breadstuff recipes you’ll find successful cookbooks are usually made pinch conscionable 3 ingredients: flour, water, and salt. 

While that type is beautiful successful its simplicity, it tin return a spot much clip and method to get right. In my version, I usage a mini magnitude of yeast to thief nan mixed emergence much easily, a scatter of beverage for a softer texture, and a touch of sweetener (or, successful my case, honey) to provender nan yeast and get it bubbling faster.

You’ll find nan nonstop measurements of this homemade lavash look successful nan recipe paper below, but present are a fewer basal notes and tips from my testing to thief you get nan champion results each time.

Water: We usage lukewarm h2o (around 110 °F – 43 °C) to activate nan yeast. The somesthesia is important present because if it is colder, nan yeast will not activate, and if it is hotter, it will termination it. 

Yeast: I usage instant yeast successful this recipe, but I still bloom it successful lukewarm h2o pinch a spot of chromatic to springiness it a caput start. This measurement isn’t ever basal pinch instant yeast, but I’ve recovered it helps create a amended emergence and a much reliable dough. 

If you only person progressive barren yeast, you tin usage it nan aforesaid way, conscionable make judge it foams up earlier moving on.

Sugar: A mini magnitude of sweetener helps provender nan yeast and encourages it to bubble up during nan resting period. You tin usage granulated sugar, but I for illustration to usage chromatic to support this look free of refined sugar. Either 1 will do nan job.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I usage a small spot of other virgin oliva oil, mostly for flavor. It adds a subtle richness to nan mixed and helps support nan lavash soft. 

Milk: A mini magnitude of beverage makes nan mixed softer and adds a somewhat richer texture. I usage full milk, but immoderate benignant you person connected manus will work. Just make judge it’s astatine room somesthesia truthful it doesn’t interfere pinch nan rising time. 

If you for illustration a dairy-free version, you tin usage h2o instead.

All-Purpose Flour vs. Bread Flour: The look I americium sharing present is made pinch all-purpose flour, which yields a soft and pliable mixed that is cleanable for rolling kebabs. If you for illustration a sturdier, chewier texture, you tin switch successful breadstuff flour instead. It has a higher macromolecule content, which gives nan mixed much structure.

Kosher salt: I utilized Diamond kosher salt, which is little salty than astir kosher salts. If you usage different brands, specified arsenic Morton’s, beryllium judge to usage half nan amount. 

Step-by-Step: How to Make Lavash Bread astatine Home

Whenever I make immoderate benignant of bread, I ever want to cognize really acold successful beforehand to start, particularly if I’m readying to service it for dinner. This easy lavash look takes astir 1.5 hours from commencement to finish, including clip to knead, rise, and cook. So if dinner’s astatine 7, starting astir 5:30 p.m. is conscionable right.

This look makes 10 lavash, conscionable successful lawsuit you are readying up aliases cooking for a crowd.

Here’s really to make lavash astatine home, measurement by step:

Step 1 – Activate nan Yeast: Place nan lukewarm h2o (around 110°F / 43°C) and chromatic (or sugar) successful a measuring cup. Stir good to make judge nan chromatic is afloat dissolved. Add nan yeast and fto it beryllium for 5 minutes, aliases until you spot a grey-ish heavy furniture of bubbly foam connected top. Then operation successful nan oliva lipid and beverage until afloat combined.

Step 2 – Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: In a ample mixing bowl, harvester nan flour and salt. Pour successful nan yeast substance and knead nan mixed pinch cleanable hands for astir 5 minutes, aliases until nary barren flour remains. 

At this point, nan mixed (and your hands) will beryllium sticky, and that is wholly normal. As you knead, move nan mixed often to guarantee everything comes together evenly.

Step 3 – First Rise: Cover nan vessel pinch a cleanable room towel (or loosely pinch integrative wrap) and fto it emergence successful a lukewarm portion of your room for 20 minutes. By nan extremity of that time, it should look a small smoother and somewhat puffed successful volume.

Step 4 – Knead nan Dough: Lightly flour your room antagonistic and transportation nan mixed over. Knead it for astir 5 minutes.

You don’t really request overmuch of a method here, but erstwhile I’m kneading it, I usually property nan full mixed pinch nan bottommost of my hand, push it away, fold it backmost over, and springiness it a turn. Then I conscionable support repeating that mobility until nan mixed feels soft and stretchy.

It shouldn’t beryllium excessively sticky, but if it is, spell up and sprinkle successful a spot much flour, conscionable a small astatine a clip (no much than a tablespoon). You don’t want to usage excessively overmuch flour, arsenic this tin make your lavash excessively barren aliases stiff.

Alternatively, you tin knead nan mixed successful a guidelines mixer utilizing nan mixed hook. However, support successful mind that you mightiness not request to knead it arsenic long. The ocular cue to salary attraction to is for nan mixed to beryllium soft and nary longer sticking to nan sides.

Step 5 – Divide nan Dough: Shape nan mixed into a log astir 12 inches agelong and disagreement it into 10 adjacent pieces. When you spell pinch 10, each lavash ends up being astir 9 to 10 inches successful diameter erstwhile it is rolled retired and cooked. If your skillet is smaller, you tin disagreement nan mixed into 12 and make somewhat smaller ones.

You tin wholly eyeball it, but if you want each your lavash to beryllium astir nan aforesaid size, a room standard helps.

Grab a meal sheet and sprinkle it pinch a small flour. Roll each portion into a shot and spot them connected nan plate. Then screen them loosely pinch a room towel and fto them remainder for 20 minutes.

Step 6 – Heat nan Skillet & Roll Out nan Dough: When you are fresh to cook, power a ample (10- aliases 12-inch) nonstick aliases cast-iron skillet complete precocious power until it is really hot. This portion is basal because if nan cookware isn’t basking enough, nan mixed will stick. You’ll cognize it is fresh erstwhile a fewer drops of h2o sizzle and vanish almost instantly.

While nan cookware heats up, commencement rolling retired nan dough. Take 1 shot astatine a clip and rotation it into a 9- to 10-inch circle utilizing a rolling pin. Do your champion to support it round, but I’ll beryllium honest; it is simply a small tricky astatine first. 

The bully news? It gets easier nan much you do it, and honestly, a somewhat wonky lavash still tastes conscionable arsenic good.

Step 7 – Cook nan Lavash: Before you commencement rolling, drawback a handbasket (a tortilla warmer useful beautifully if you person one) aliases a vessel and statement it pinch a room towel. We request a spot to shop nan freshly cooked lavash and support it soft and warm. Set that aside.

Carefully transportation nan rolled-out mixed to nan basking skillet. Within 10 to 15 seconds, you should spot small bubbles commencement to shape connected nan surface. Give it a flip, navigator for different 10 seconds, past flip again. As it cooks and puffs, you’ll spot aureate brownish spots commencement to appear, which is precisely what we want.

Keep flipping each 10-15 seconds, and navigator for astir 40-50 seconds total, aliases until some sides are cooked and it has immoderate bully color.

Transfer nan freshly cooked lavash to your prepared handbasket and screen it pinch nan towel to support it warm. Then conscionable repetition nan process (roll, cook, and store) for nan remaining mixed balls.

Troubleshooting Common Lavash Baking Issues

While this lavash flatbread look is beautiful straightforward, I ran into a fewer hiccups during testing, truthful I wanted to stock immoderate tips successful lawsuit you acquisition nan same. Here are a fewer communal issues and what mightiness beryllium causing them:

Dough isn’t rising: After nan first 20-minute rest, your mixed should beryllium somewhat larger and little sticky. If that is not happening, chances are your yeast was not decently activated. This usually comes down to nan h2o being excessively acold aliases excessively hot. If you don’t spot bubbles connected apical during nan blooming stage, it is champion not to adhd that substance to nan flour and conscionable commencement caller pinch a caller batch.

Dough is excessively sticky aliases excessively dry: Before nan first rise, nan mixed will beryllium sticky, and that is wholly normal. After it rests and you statesman kneading, it should soft retired and go easier to handle. 

A small flour connected nan antagonistic is good if it is sticking excessively much, but effort not to overdo it. Too overmuch flour tin barren nan mixed and make nan lavash stiff.

Lavash isn’t bubbling successful nan skillet: If you are not seeing bubbles aft placing nan mixed successful nan pan, location are usually 2 imaginable reasons: either nan skillet isn’t basking enough, aliases nan mixed was rolled excessively thick.

Serving Suggestions:

If you’re wondering really to usage lavash, nan short reply is anyplace you’d usage your favourite flatbread. But for illustration astir breadstuff recipes, location are truthful galore different ways to bask it. Below are a fewer of my favourite recipes to brace pinch lavash:

Kebabs: The astir accepted measurement to service lavash is arsenic a wrap for kebabs, for illustration my Turkish Adana Kebab. Its thin, soft texture makes it cleanable for rolling, and it does a awesome occupation soaking up each nan delicious juices from nan meat. That said, you don’t person to extremity astatine kebabs. Any grilled meat, for illustration my Shish Tawook,  useful beautifully wrapped successful lavash.

Shawarma: Beyond kebabs, homemade lavash is nan cleanable wrap for your favourite shawarma recipes, specified arsenic my Chicken Shawarma aliases Beef Shawarma. Just rotation up nan nutrient pinch your favourite toppings for a delicious, handheld meal.

Scooping Mezes and Dips: While pita is often nan go-to for serving pinch meze for illustration baba ganoush, hummus, aliases muhammara, lukewarm lavash is conscionable arsenic good, if not better. Tear disconnected a portion and usage it to scoop up nan dips correct disconnected nan plate. No spoon needed.

Breakfast: Lavash is besides awesome pinch a elemental Turkish meal spread. I emotion serving it alongside cheeses, olives, Turkish eggs, and freshly sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. And if I consciousness for illustration treating myself a bit, I sometimes moreover brushwood it pinch immoderate melted food while it is still warm.

Other versatile uses: Lavash is 1 of those breads you tin service pinch conscionable astir anything. Use it to dip into soups and stews, wrap up leftovers, aliases moreover move it into a speedy wrap. Any clip you find yourself reaching for bread, lavash will do nan occupation beautifully.

​​How to Store, Freeze and Reheat Lavash

I’ll beryllium honest, lavash is champion connected nan time that it is made while it is still warm. As it cools, it tends to suffer its softness. That said, if you shop it properly, it is still awesome nan adjacent day. Here’s really I do it:

Storage: Let nan lavash cool to room temperature, past spot it successful an airtight instrumentality aliases sealable zip-top bag. Keep it successful nan fridge for up to 3 aliases 4 days.

Freezing: Once cooled, spot nan lavash successful a freezer-safe instrumentality aliases freezer container pinch sheets of parchment insubstantial betwixt each piece. Try to region arsenic overmuch aerial arsenic imaginable earlier sealing. It will support successful nan freezer for up to a month. When you’re fresh to usage it, thaw overnight successful nan fridge.

Reheating: You person 2 options here:

• In nan oven: Preheat nan oven to 325°F. Lightly spray nan lavash pinch water, spot it connected a baking sheet, and lukewarm for 8 to 10 minutes aliases until heated through. You tin reheat aggregate pieces utilizing this method.
• In nan microwave (my favourite method): Lightly bedewed 2 sheets of insubstantial towel and wrap nan lavash successful between. Microwave for 30 seconds, past cautiously region nan towels. If it needs a spot much time, repetition for different 10 to 15 seconds. When utilizing this method, it is champion to reheat your lavash 1 portion astatine a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Bread Recipes You Might Also Like:

If you’re a instrumentality of lavash, chances are you emotion Middle Eastern breads conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic I do. Here are a fewer much recipes from nan archives:

• Stop buying pita astatine nan shop and effort making your own. It’s easier than you think. Check retired my station connected how to make pita bread, complete pinch foolproof tips cleanable for beginners.
• If you’ve ever had a accepted Turkish breakfast, you’ve astir apt had simit. Some group telephone it Turkish bagels, and erstwhile you effort it, you’ll understand why it’s specified a favorite. This one’s worthy your time.
• No sourdough starter? No problem. My no-knead oliva bread is 1 of nan easiest, astir hands-off breadstuff recipes you tin make. Just mix, fto it rest, and bake.

Photos by Tanya Pilgrim.