Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Armenian Flatbread Wraps

* Exported from MasterCook *

Armenian Flatbread Wraps - Lavash

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : LowCal (Less than 300 cals) LowerCarbs
LowFat (Less than 5%) Unleavened

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 tablespoon mild honey -- or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 1/2 cups hard unbleached white flour -- to 3 cups
1 teaspoon salt

Stir the honey and yeast into the warm water in a medium-sized bread bowl until dissolved. Gradually add 2 cups flour, stirring continuously in the same direction. The stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to help develop the gluten in the flour. Sprinkle on the salt, and gradually add more flour until the dough is too stiff to mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes, adding flour only as needed.

Clean and lightly oil your bread bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for approximately 3 hours, or until doubled in volume. (You can also let the dough rise overnight in a cool place; the slower rise will give more flavor.)

Punch down the dough and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Flatten each piece between floured palms. To roll out the lavash, work on two pieces at a time, leaving the remaining dough covered. Roll out one piece to a round 5 to 6-inches in diameter, and then switch to the other piece. (In rolling out yeasted doughs, it is important to roll them out only so far and then let rest before rolling out more. The gluten is stretched as you roll it out, and once it gets accustomed to its new shape, it can be easily stretched some more.) Alternate between the two doughs until each is a very thin round approximately 13 to 14-inches in diameter.

To cook the breads using a work and a gas flame:
Turn the wok upside down over high heat. Lightly oil the top surface with a paper towel, and let it get hot before putting on a bread. The rolled-out bread is a little fragile at this point and may tear while being transferred to the wok. To carry it easily, roll it halfway up onto the rolling pin. Then lay one edge on the hot wok and gradually unroll the bread over the wok.

Cook for 15 seconds and then delicately turn the bread with a wooden spatula. Cook for 30 to 40 seconds, then turn over again and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the lavash and lay it on a clean kitchen towel. Fold the bread in half and wrap it in the towel to keep it warm. Cook the second bread, and then continue rolling out and cooking th remaining breads.

To bake the lavash:
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and arrange quarry tiles on the rack, leaving a 1-inch gap between the tiles and the oven walls. If you don't have quarry tiles, place a large baking sheet on the rack to preheat.

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Bake the lavash on the tiles or baking sheet for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, until lightly brown.

Serve the breads warm. Breads left out to cool will quickly become dry and brittle. These can be eaten like crackers or broken up into soups and stews.

Makes 8 thin round flatbreads about 14 inches across.

AuthorNote: Lavash is a very old bread, and it's made by many people besides Armenians. In many parts of Iran it is the staple bread. In Lebanon, where it is called 'khubz markouk', it is thought of as mountain bread because it is the daily bread in many mountain villages. Because it is so thin, lavash dries out almost instantly, and in this way it is preserved. Whenever you need fresh bread, you simple sprinkle some water over it and wrap it in a towel, and immediately the is once again soft. Preserving bread in this way has traditionally been a way of putting up food for the winter, as well as conserving fuel resources. For nomadic or seminomadic peoples, lavash is a food that's easy to carry and needs no additional cooking

The enormous paperthin lavash of Armenia are made in a tannur oven, but in many other countries the breads are made on a sajj, a large concave iron plate placed over a gas flame. If you don't have a sajj, a tannur, a wok or a gas stove, simply bake the lavash on baking sheets or unglazed quarry tiles in the oven.

These lavash are much smaller than the great sheet I bought that day in Yerevan, more like the bread made in homes in parts of Lebanon, Georgia, Armenia and Iran. They are very quick to bake and very thin and supple when fresh.

Cuisine:
"MidEastern"
Source:
"Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, William Morrow, 1995"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"Oct 2011"
Yield:
"8 14-inch flatbreads"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 134 Calories; trace Fat (0.1% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 268mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 731 0 5472 0 0