armenianbread✨ New
Lavash (Armenian Flatbread)
Paper-thin Armenian flatbread baked in a tonir or on a hot dry skillet — the daily bread of the Armenian table.
Prep
30 min
Cook
20 min
Servings
8
Difficulty
Medium
Paper-thin Armenian flatbread baked in a tonir or on a hot dry skillet — the daily bread of the Armenian table.
Lavash is the everyday bread of Armenia, so central to the culture that UNESCO inscribed the tradition of its preparation, meaning, and appearance in society as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014. Traditionally the dough is stretched by hand into large, thin ovals and slapped onto the searing-hot inner wall of a tonir, a clay pit oven, where it bakes in under a minute, bubbling and blistering before being peeled off with a long skewer. Home cooks without a tonir get very close results on an overturned wok or a well-heated cast-iron pan. Fresh lavash is soft and pliable, used to scoop khorovats or wrap cheese and herbs; left out, it dries into cracker-like sheets that are re-softened with a splash of water for later use — nothing is ever wasted.
Serves 8
Whisk flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Add warm water and olive oil, and mix to a shaggy dough.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until roughly doubled.
Punch down and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball, cover, and rest 15 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll each ball into a very thin oval or round, about 2–3 mm thick — lavash should be almost translucent in spots.
Heat a dry cast-iron skillet or overturned wok over high heat. Lay a rolled sheet on the hot surface; it will bubble within 20–30 seconds. Flip once bubbles appear and cook 15–20 seconds more until lightly charred in spots.
Stack cooked lavash under a clean kitchen towel to keep soft and steamy while you cook the rest.
Serve warm, wrapped around khorovats or cheese and herbs. To store longer, let sheets dry out fully, then re-soften with a light water spritz before use.
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Roll the dough as thin as you dare — thick lavash turns into a soft pita rather than the traditional paper-thin bread.
A carbon-steel wok flipped upside down over a burner mimics tonir heat far better than a nonstick pan.
Keep a small bowl of water nearby to spritz your rolling surface if the dough starts sticking rather than adding more flour.
Scatter sesame or nigella seeds onto the dough before rolling for a textured finish.
Add a tablespoon of yogurt to the dough for a slightly softer, tangier lavash that stays pliable longer.
Make matnakash-style thicker rounds if you prefer a chewier bread for sandwiches.
Dried lavash keeps at room temperature in a sealed bag for 2–3 weeks. Re-soften a sheet by running it briefly under water and letting it rest wrapped in a towel for 5 minutes before serving.
Lavash has been baked across Armenia and the wider Caucasus and Iranian plateau for over a thousand years, traditionally in a tonir dug into the ground. In 2014, UNESCO added Armenian lavash to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing both the baking technique and its deep social role in Armenian life.
No — a very hot, dry cast-iron skillet or an overturned carbon-steel wok gets remarkably close results at home; the key is intense, direct dry heat, not the specific vessel.
It's usually rolled too thick or overworked. Roll it as thin as possible and cook it fast over high heat so it sets before drying out.
Yes — stack cooled sheets with parchment between them, wrap tightly, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm briefly before serving.
Lavash is unleavened or lightly leavened and rolled paper-thin with no pocket, while pita is thicker, more heavily leavened, and puffs to form an internal pocket during baking.
Per serving (80g / 2.8 oz) · 8 servings total
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