Lavash Flatbread

By
Jennifer Meier
Jennifer Meier
Jennifer Meier
Food writer, cookbook author, and recipe developer Jennifer Meier specializes in creating healthy and diet-specific recipes.
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Updated on 01/25/24
Homemade lavash

The Spruce Eats / Jennifer Meier

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Rest : 40 mins
Total: 70 mins
Servings: 6 servings

Lavash is a thin type of Middle Eastern flatbread that is not exclusive to one country but considered a regional specialty. It is widely used in Armenia, Iran, and Turkey and also consumed in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. A basic dough, with or without yeast, is a common base for lavash, but each country has a way of eating and serving it. A great accompaniment to saucy preparations, lavash is eaten with meats, cheeses, and vegetables, and is also delicious when eaten just with butter or dipped in olive oil. When yeasted, lavash is great for making wraps.

Although it seems like a lot of work to make a batch of lavash, it really isn't. Our easy recipe for crispy un-yeasted lavash takes 10 minutes of hands-on work when making the dough, a quick proof, and then shaping the bread before baking it in the oven. Lavash also can be found ready-made in most grocery stores sold in either round or rectangular shapes and made from either white or whole-wheat flour. If you can't find prepared lavash at your favorite market, pita bread and naan are good substitutes, although they have a softer, more pillowy texture than lavash. 

Serve the homemade flatbread with a cheese board, use it as a pizza crust, make it the base for an open-faced sandwich, or cut it in pieces to scoop out bits and pieces from stews and soups. Some recipes for lavash use yeast and have a softer, chewier texture. The lavash recipe below has a crispy texture similar to a cracker, thus its common name "cracker bread." Serve with eggs, cheese, labneh, or any dips or spreads of your liking.

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups (330 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

  • 1 large egg, at room temperature

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • Sea salt, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

  3. In a smaller bowl, beat together the water, egg, and 1 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil until well mixed.

  4. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with flour and mix well. Knead with your hands until the dough comes together, but don't overdo it as the end result will be tough. If too wet, add a teaspoon of flour at a time until the dough comes together.

  5. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Split the dough into 2 balls. Let the balls of dough rest, covered, for at least as long as it takes for the oven to heat, or ideally for 30 to 40 minutes. 

  6. Lightly grease 2 un-rimmed cookie sheets with some of the remaining olive oil. Place the cookie sheets on a flat surface with a towel underneath so they don't slip. Place one ball of dough on each cookie sheet and roll the dough out as thin as possible, the thinner the dough, the crispier the flatbread.

  7. Brush each flatbread with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt if desired.

  8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the flatbread is lightly browned and crispy.

  9. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

  10. Enjoy.

Pizza Stone or Skillet Lavash

If you'd rather use your pizza stone or a skillet, simply divide the dough into 8 balls before resting it for 40 minutes. Flatten each ball by rolling it out with a rolling pin and keep it moist by covering the discs with a damp towel:

  • Preheat the pizza stone while the oven reaches 400 F and for at least one hour.
  • Place one or two discs on the hot stone and close the oven quickly. The smaller size takes a lot less time to cook so stay close to the oven, turning once until the discs are crispy on the bottom.
  • If using a skillet, preferably cast iron, heat up to the smoking point and pan-fry each disc until bubbly and slightly brown on both sides, approximately one minute per side.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
260 Calories
6g Fat
44g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 260
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 31mg 10%
Sodium 367mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 44g 16%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 14mg 1%
Iron 3mg 16%
Potassium 73mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)