Lavash

We recently went to a local Greek restaurant and tried their Lavash as an appetizer.  It was so wonderful that we had to try it at home.  This flatbread is easy to make and ready in less than two hours.  It’s perfect as an appetizer, or for a dinner bread.  A few fresh things from the garden can really spruce it up nicely!   This recipe makes about 8 Lavash.

Hot from the oven.  Yum!  Make plenty, they go fast.

Ingredients

for the dough

•  1 teaspoons instant yeast
•  8 ounces (about 1 ½  cups) all-purpose flour
•  1 teaspoons salt
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) water
•  1 ½  tablespoons olive oil

for the toppings

•  1 cup grated Havarti cheese  
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced  (with some of the green part)
•  2 medium tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
•  2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
•  8 large fresh basil leaves, sliced into thin strips

Directions
In a large bowl, use a mixer to stir together the dry ingredients. Combine the water and oil and add it to the mixer. Keep stirring on low setting until the dough comes together, then turn the mixer to medium high and beat for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic (it will be quite wet.)

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic and let it rise until it’s doubled, about 1 ½  hours.   Preheat oven oven to 500 degrees and set a pizza stone on a middle rack (if you don’t have a stone, use a heavy baking tray, but a pizza stone works best.)  Tear off a piece of the dough about the size of a golf ball, and put it on a well-floured piece of parchment paper. Keep the rest of the dough covered. Dust the dough and a rolling pin with flour, then roll the dough out until it’s a fairly thin circle.  Using a pair of scissors, trim the parchment paper to a circular shape around the edge of the bread circle (you can fit more on the pizza stone this way.)

Trimming the parchment paper to the edges of the Lavash circles.

Slide the parchment sheet with the dough off the kitchen counter onto the pizza stone.  Bake the bread about 3 minutes, until it “puffs” with a few light brown spots on the bottom (you might poke the puffy areas with a fork to allow to flatten back out.)  Remove it from the oven and allow to cool briefly.  Top the bread circles evenly with the Havarti cheese, green onions, tomatoes, garlic and basil.  Return to the oven and broil for about 1 minute, until the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Some fresh garlic and tomatoes from the garden for toppings.