Alton brown's recipe sounds good, thought it is more crackery

he calls for lower temp and the back of a sheet pan

can you eat seitan, although its not that healthy ... sodium overload...etc

Interesting that Alton uses egg in his recipe - I've not seen that in lavash before. His does sound more like crackers, which is what I've made before, and I'm trying to do something different this time.

I've decided to bake at 450° (500° sounds high, since Alton uses 350°), and I'm going to experiment with the cast iron griddle pan, if I can get the dough to fit properly. I'll photograph the results, good or bad, even though my kitchen is a huge mess now, since Kevin and I are both somewhat incapacitated!

ETA: As it turns out, my griddle does not fit inside the oven (because of the handles), and so I used a baking sheet that is about 17.5" x 11.5" inside. I also decided to dock the dough and bake it at 400° so that it would not get too crisp. The 400° recipe said to bake it for 20 - 25 minutes, and so I set the timer for 20 minutes. It also said to brush with water (I sprayed it) and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds (which I had in the freezer), and so I did that also. I do think it will take at least 20 minutes to get done. It somewhat resembled focaccia but is slightly thinner. Maybe next time I will just make focaccia, as I have a recipe for that which I like. I could try making thinner and thinner focaccia until I reach the lavash stage. The lavash I buy here is about the thickness of pita bread.

I forgot about the tahini in hummus, and so it might be a complete protein without the lavash. I did take photos of the lavash as I was making it, and it came out pretty good, but I think I can do better. It was still a bit crisp when done and did not rise quite as much as I would have liked. Next time I will use 1/4 cup white flour for 1/4 cup of the whole wheat and bake it at 350° to see if it will come out softer. I did cover it after I took it out of the oven, but next time I will also spray it with water when I take it out, to make it a bit more pliable. It tastes good, even if it is not as soft as I would like it. I might also try making the dough the day ahead and let it rise overnight in the fridge. That's what I do with pizza dough.

Here are the photos I promised; not pretty, but possibly helpful:

This is the dough after I rolled it out after letting it rise only two hours. I tried to get it to 17"x9", I think.

It was easy to put into my baking sheet and then dock it with my docking roller, although I doubt this was necessary.

Then I sprinkled sesame seeds on it (you can see my docker in this photo), and I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to be having those yet or not.

Out of the oven and cut into irregular pieces with a pizza wheel. After this stage, I covered it with the pan upside down so that it would not dry out. I think I also sprayed it with water. The pieces cooled into somewhat dense and hard rectangles, but I stored them in a plastic bag overnight, and the next day they were softer. I liked them either way, but Kevin did not eat any because he did not want to wait and made himself a sandwich.

Today I made a revised version of this recipe, and right now it is in the fridge. If it rises enough, I will bake it tomorrow - if not, I will wait another day - the hummus will keep. I added chopped Kalamata olives to the hummus, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to have those yet or not, but I am chewing everything very thoroughly and deliberately, and so far I've have no problems. Unfortuntately, Kevin is not doing quite as well, but soon we will be able to eat the same foods.

Kevin thinks lavash should be thinner than this, and so I may cook two batches - one thin and one thicker. If I ever get the recipe to where I like it, I will post it. I think I am close to that now.

That looks really yummy! Can Kevin have sesame seeds? I'd double check about those.

What else do you use a docking roller for?

This is very interesting. I haven't had lavosh since it was all the rage for a while in the late 80s (at least down here), but it was always very crackery. I thought that was how it was supposed to be.

I'm glad you're recovering well!

That looks delicious, but very different to what I'm used to lavash being like, which is as thin as a tortilla but softer and in flaky layers. I'm looking forward to your further experiments.

Some of the lavash I buy here is thin, but what I like best is from from Lebanse/Syrian market on Venice Blvd that is somewhat thick. I think It is actually Armenian, and there is a Turkish restaurant next door, and so I'm not really sure what kind of of a market it is. They also sell a lot of Indian food items and Bulgarian feta. Anyway, I am just trying to get a pliable lavash, although I actually do prefer it stiff, since it stands up to the hummus better. Since it is so so easy to make, I will be doing further experiments, but I'm out of VWG, and I'll have to drive to a store to get that -it's not worth buying on line. I can drive to the nearest Ralphs without any problems (or even Trader Joe's), but Kevin is not yet able to do that.

It's extremely easy to make crackery lavash - it is a different story to make it soft. Normally, we just buy it, but I want to make it with as much whole wheat as possible, and that's not what I find in the stores.

I bought my docking roller to make flatbread and crackers, but I seldom make those, even though I have very good recipes for them. I would rather have a docker with pins, but this was all I could find at our local restaurant supply store at the time. I think it works fine anyway. You might be able to use a dough docker for focaccia, but I use it so seldom that I do not think it is a necessary utensil. Still, it is fun to use and very quick. I suppose you could use it on pie dough, but mine is awkward for that, and so I haven't used it for that. It's great for crackers and lavash, however.

It's one thing to make flaky lavash with white flour and quite another thing to make it with 100% whole wheat flour. I've made it with white flour, and it came out being very different. I'm supposed to limit my white flour as much as possible, as it is on the forbidden list.

I checked my calendar and diet schedule again and found out that I am not supposed to eat any bread until next week. I did have a small amount of stomach pain today, and that may have been caused by the bread, especially since it was so tough. I think the beans were okay, however. I'll freeze whatever leftover lavash I end up with - I've already put the sprouted wheat bread that I bought at the farmers' market in the freezer. I'm letting the second batch of lavash dough rise right now (and I will let it rise three hours before baking), but I will freeze that also.

Lars, look what Trader Joe’s in West LA had today!

Thanks! I'll have to look for that. I've looked for lavash at TJs before and could not always find it. I don't think the Syrian market has the whole wheat version anyway, although I do know that whole wheat lavash is made here.

Which West LA TJs was it? Was it on National, Olympic, Pico, or some other street? The one we go to in Westchester is very crowded, and so sometimes we go to one in Culver City or South Bay.

Check the ingredients. Often "whole wheat" has more white flour ("enriched") than whole. TJ's does carry some decent 100% whole wheat pita as well.

Lars it was at the TJ’s on Olympic just east of Barrington. Parking is on the roof. Or park across the street at Ralph’s! This is certainly easier than baking it, probably cheaper too!

plllog, thanks for that warning. I usually feel pretty good about TJ's sourcing and labeling, but will remember to double check.

Whole grain labeling - buyer beware!

lars: if you are doing a tTJ run, look for some Zhoug sauce. In the refrigerated hummus section. Lots of cilantro and a nice bite ...

Believe me, I read ingredients on all labels, as well as expiration dates, and if I cannot find an expiration date, I get someone in the store to help me. I have to avoid all white sugar as well as white flour, but when making my own lavash, I decided that a small bit of white flour would be okay. I'll look for the Zhoug sauce also.

Here's the recipe I am using now:

Lars' Whole Wheat Lavash Bread

1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour
2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. raw sugar
1 Tbsp instant dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water
2 Tbsp Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
slightly toasted sesame seeds, or Za'atar*
olive oil

Mix flours, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl with a whisk; then add yeast, water, yogurt, and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more water or flour if necessary. Place in a warm and oiled bowl, turning dough over to coat surface with oil in the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic and refrigerate overnight, or two days. Remove dough one hour before planning to roll it out. Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll dough into a 17” x 9” rectangle and dock or prick with fork. Cover with plastic, and allow to rise for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Place on baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil or water; then sprinkle with sesame seeds or Za'atar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bread is lightly browned. Brush with olive oil or spray with water (as preferred) as soon as it comes out of the oven. When slightly cooled, cut into squares or rectangles and store in a plastic bag or air-tight container to prevent it from drying out or getting hard.

*Note: I store Za'atar in the freezer because it contains sesame seeds, and they do not keep well at room temperature. I also store sesame seeds, toasted or raw, in the freezer.

Option: You can cut the dough into four pieces and roll out into four very thin circles and then bake at 500° for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or on a hot griddle. You don't have to dock it if you bake it this way, but it will bubble up and make be crisper than you want. Instead of yogurt, you can add whey protein powder and a bit more water. If you bake it on a griddle it may cook more quickly and will need to be flipped. You can make smaller ones if your griddle is too small.

I have decided that I also like the original recipe I made with 100% whole wheat. It got better (softer) after a couple of days in a plastic bag. The second batch is in the freezer because I think I'm not really supposed to be eating it until middle of next week.

Kevin's friend took him to the Trader Joe's in Westchester while she was helping him pick up a prescription at CVS, and so he bought some whole wheat lavash there. I approve of all of the ingredients, and it does appear to be 100% whole wheat. However, I know now that what I've been making is NOT lavash. It is closer to Bazlama or Man'oushe. The second batch I made is very close to this recipe for Manoushe, since I put Za'atar on it, like what I've had at a Turkish/Syrian restaurant. That restaurant is actually Syrian, but it calls itself Turkish to attract more customers, but I could tell from the menu that the food is Syrian. Anyway, I use much less Za'atar on top than they do and very little olive oil on top. While I do like the lavash from TJ, I like the thicker bread better, and I'm going to try cooking it on a griddle next time, possible, although it worked really well in the oven. I guess it is not traditional to dock the dough, but I did like the results I got that way. I end up with a bread that stands up to hummus much better than lavash does, and sometimes I eat a small piece with some cheese on it (that is on my new diet). I think I will go back to using 100% whole wheat, as I liked that better, but Kevin liked the one with 25% white flour better. Maybe I will compromise and use 12% white flour. I don't think that small amount of white flour will hurt me, especially since I eat such small quantities of the bread. I did forget to tell Kevin to get more whole wheat flour at the grocery store while he was out. They went in the morning, which is not a good time yet for me to be driving that far. I think that by this week-end, I'll be okay to do drive where I want, however.

I took the second batch out of the freezer after it had been there only two days because we went through the first batch faster than I expected. Since I make a small batch using only two cups of flour, I do all the kneading by hand - that seems easier than cleaning the bowl for the KA mixer. Next I'm going to have to try making whole wheat pasta, even though I can buy that easily enough also.

Here's some lavash style bread, called Sangak, which is the national bread of Iran.

We bought this at the Middle Eastern market we go to on Venice Blvd. It's call Payless International Market, and so we're not sure if it is owners are Lebanese or Syrian, but it is probably one of those two, as they have a lot of products from Lebanon and Syria, but they also have items from Greece, India, and Iran, plus some items made by local Turkish suppliers. We went there because I wanted to get some pigeon peas, and those are not that easy to find everywhere. I also bought more garbanzo and kidney beans. In addition, I bought some almond oil and avocado oil because they were very reasonably price, plus some more Mexican sea salt for making pickles. I also stocked up on ginger, which I put into three separate bags and stored in the freezer.