Lavash

For the Caribbean island, see Lavash Island; for the cheese, see Lavaş cheese.

Different varieties of Lavash sold in Yerevan market

Lavash (Armenian: լավաշ, Turkish and Azeri: lavaş, Georgian: ლავაში lavaši, Kurdish: Lawaş لاواش, Persian: لواش, lavāš) is a soft, thin flatbread popular in several countries of the northern parts of the Middle-East and the southern parts of the Caucasus.

Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a clay oven.

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 traditions by the Armenian Apostolic 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 kebabs, to make dürüm wraps.

Lavash is made with flour, water, and salt. The thickness of the bread varies and depends on how thin it's rolled out. Toasted sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds can be sprinkled on before baking.

It is the most widespread type of bread in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran.^[1]

It is also known in English as lahvash or cracker bread.

Possible origins and etymology

• According to the American heritage dictionary lavash is of Armenian origin.^[2][3]

• According to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food its origin is Middle East.^{[4][Need quotation to verify]}

• 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".^{[5][Need quotation to verify]}

Notes

Lavash wraps have recently been popularized in the USA within Jillian Michaels' thirty day fitness guide book for losing the 'last 10-20' stubborn pounds. The wraps are a key component of the diet plan. The book is entitled Making the Cut.

See also

• Taftan, an Iranian bread very similar to Lavash, but thicker
• Sangak, another Iranian bread
• Barbari bread, another Iranian bread
• Matnakash, an Armenian bread
• Lavaş cheese
• Tandyr nan (ru:Тандыр-нан) - a Centar Asian version of flatbread made in tandoor (thick)

References

1. ^ The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Making Classic Breads with the Cutting-edge Techniques of a Bread Master
2. ^ Provided by wordnik.com website
3. ^ Provided by Yahoo Education website
4. ^ Gil Marks (2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. John Wiley and Sons. p. 355. 
5. ^ "Armenian Encyclopedia". Armenian Encyclopedia. 4. Armenian National Academy of Sciences. pp. 234–235. 

External links

• Lavash in Dictionary.com
• International Journal of Food Science and Technology Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 469-479.