Lavash
This Genocide Remembrance Day, I made lavash – the Armenian bread UNESCO recognizes as intangible cultural heritage.
I love being Armenian!
For those who may not know, April 24 is Genocide Remembrance Day — a time when Armenians around the world honor the 1.5 million lives lost in the Ottoman Empire. It’s a story that feels all too familiar, as the world’s superpowers of today still fail to confront the disgusting injustice in places like Palestine, Lebanon, and the Congo (to name a few).
I know many will be in the streets marching for the Armenian cause today, so I’m sharing my culture the way I know best: through food. I’m making lavash — the traditional bread I grew up with in my diaspora house, shaped by the generations of Armenian women who rolled, stretched and baked who came before me.
I recently learned through The Last Sweet Bite by Michael Shaikh (an incredible read, for anyone interested in food anthropology and how conflict shapes our plates) that lavash is recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Knowing that this bread – so special to me and to Armenians everywhere – carries global recognition and UNESCO’s attempt at preservation feels significant.
I cannot stress this enough: it is SO important to preserve, cook and eat food from cultures either historically or currently under threat. I hope you enjoy this simple, delicious recipe. It means a lot to us Armenians.
Lavash
Prep Time 30 minutes mins Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Proofing Time 1 hour hr Servings 12
Ingredients
1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup of milk or splash of heavy cream
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or combination with bread flower
Directions
Stir together the water, milk, yeast, oil and honey in a bowl
In another bowl, mix flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture knead using standing mixer on “2” (or your hands, if you’ve got it like that) until everything combines – and then continue for 5-10 minutes.
Form the dough into a ball, drizzle oil over the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit in under the sun or in a warm place until it’s doubled in size. Punch the dough!
Divide into 8-12 equal balls on a lined baking sheet and cover with a towel for 10 minutes.
Flour a work surface and roll out your lavash. Lightly spray or butter your skillet/griddle. Cook for about a minute on each side (until the dough bubbles and are golden-brown).
For best results, serve immediately (and add butter and honey!).
Enjoy!
