Lavash
Encyclopedia
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
popular in several countries of the northern parts of the Middle-East and the southern parts of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.
Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a clay oven
Tandoor
A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking. The tandoor is used for cooking in Azerbaijan, India, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Asia, as well as Burma and Bangladesh.The heat for a tandoor was...
.
While quite flexible when fresh, lavash dries out quickly and becomes brittle and hard. The soft form is easier to use when making wrap sandwiches; however, the dry form can be used for long-term storage and is used instead of leavened bread in Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
traditions by the Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
. Dry, left-over lavash is used in Iran to make quick meals after being rehydrated with water, butter and cheese. Lavash bread is also used with kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
s, to make dürüm
Durum
Durum wheat or macaroni wheat is the only tetraploid species of wheat of commercial importance that is widely cultivated today...
wraps.
Lavash is made with flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
. The thickness of the bread varies and depends on how thin it's rolled out. Toasted sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
can be sprinkled on before baking.
It is the most widespread type of bread in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
It is also known in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as lahvash or cracker bread.
Possible origins and etymology
- According to the American heritage dictionary lavash is of Armenian origin.
- According to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food its origin is Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
- According to Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia the word lavash is an Armenian word, as the word "lavash" in Armenian consists of two parts. The first one "lav" in Armenia means "good". The second part "ash" means "food, meal". So in Armenian it means "good food".
See also
- TaftanTaftan (bread)Taftan is a leavened flour bread from Persian cuisine, Cuisine of Pakistan and Uttar Pradeshi Cuisine, with saffron and small amount of cardamom powder baked in a clay oven.-See also:* Lavash, another Iranian bread very similar to Taftan, but thinner...
, an Iranian bread very similar to Lavash, but thicker - SangakSangakSangak is a plain, rectangular, or triangular Iranian whole wheat sour dough flatbread. It is considered to be Iran's national bread....
, another Iranian bread - Barbari breadBarbari breadBarbari Bread is a type of Persian flatbread in Iran.Barbari means "of or related to Barbars" in Persian. Barbars are a group of people living in Khorasan near eastern borders of Iran...
, another Iranian bread - MatnakashMatnakashMatnakash is a traditional soft Armenian bread. The word matnakash literally means finger draw or finger pull, referring to the way the bread is prepared....
, an Armenian bread - Lavaş cheeseLavaş cheeseLavaş cheese is produced in Karacadağ, in the vicinity of Diyarbakır in Turkey. It is generally made from ewe's milk....
- Tandyr nan (:ru:Тандыр-нан) - a Centar Asian version of flatbread made in tandoor (thick)