Each month I tell myself that I won’t procrastinate the challenge, and each month I am rushing to complete the monthly task. Luckily for me, this challenge was a breeze. So, thank you Shel of Musings from the Fish Bowl and Natalie of Gluten A Go Go for picking this recipe! :D
All I really spent time doing was kneading the dough and my, that was quite an exercise. I’ve tried making lavash earlier but I wasn’t so happy with the result. This time they turned out to be so perfectly crisp. And topped with poppy seeds, black sesame and white sesame, these looked gorgeous. I event made another batch with Herbs de Provence sprinkled with coarse sea salt.
I served the lavash with hummus. Instead of using mint seasoning, I added two spoons of tahini paste and sprinkled a generous helping of zattar (absolutely love this!) and some red chilli powder.
Lavash
Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice
1-1/2 cups (6.75 oz/200g) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend
1/2 teaspoon (.13 oz) salt
1/2 teaspoon (.055 oz) instant yeast
1 tablespoon (.75 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon (.5 oz) vegetable oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for topping
1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for
about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bre … ong-Enough for a description of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough, satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).
4. Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper-thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt – a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.
6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top. The time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough). Mine took a little longer.
7. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.
