Matnakash
A soft Armenian oval bread with a glossy surface and deep finger grooves, made here with a rye or whole-wheat flour scald and an overnight cold fermentation.
Modern adaptation
Fresh Armenian lavash (Leahy, Lee and Zada home-griddle method)
A yeast old-dough lavash method adapted from Armenian baking for the home griddle, producing eight thin, pliable wheat sheets.
A fresh griddle method
Lavash names a wider family of thin breads across the Caucasus and western Asia. This entry follows one fresh Armenian-inspired home method documented for a Smithsonian cooking demonstration. Kate Leahy, John Lee and Ara Zada explain that the recipe adapts what they learned from Armenian master bakers to a modern kitchen.
The method makes an old dough with a small amount of instant yeast, then mixes it into a second dough. It uses a cast-iron griddle rather than a tonir. The bread is rolled into thin sheets and cooked briefly so it remains pliable. Dry lavash for storage is a separate outcome and is covered by the existing preservation-focused record.
Sources for this section
History
The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage presents lavash as Armenian heritage and describes the authors' fieldwork in Armenia. The selected Smithsonian handout is a modern home-kitchen adaptation inspired by Armenian master bakers, not a universal formula or a tonir replication.
Ingredients
Yield 8 sheets, about 33 by 23 cm each · Scaling: source batch only
All-purpose wheat flour
70 g
for the old doughLukewarm water
70 mL
for the old doughInstant yeast
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
for the old doughLukewarm water
240 mL
for the main doughSunflower oil
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
or another neutral oilKosher salt
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
for the main doughAll-purpose wheat flour
440 g
for the main doughAll-purpose wheat flour (optional)Dust the work surface and rolling pin lightly.
as needed
Neutral oil (optional)Lightly oil the old-dough container, bulk-fermentation bowl and portion tray.
as needed
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Uncooked flour can carry germs; do not taste the dough before griddling.
Hazard sourceCook each lavash on both sides before serving, do not taste raw dough, and wash hands, bowls, utensils and work surfaces after handling flour or dough.
Control sourceThe griddle becomes very hot. Use tongs to turn the sheet and monitor the heat between batches.
- Make the old dough: combine 70 g flour, 70 mL lukewarm water and ¼ teaspoon instant yeast in a small bowl. Squish them together by hand or with a rubber spatula until a thick paste forms. Put it in a lightly oiled container, cover and leave at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, until doubled.
- In a large bowl, combine the old dough, 240 mL lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon oil and salt. Break the old dough apart in the water with your hands; it need not dissolve completely.
- Stir in about one-third of the 440 g flour, then add the remaining flour and mix until incorporated. Cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 20 minutes so the flour hydrates.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Stretch and fold it over itself, kneading by hand for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth.
- Lightly oil a large bowl, add the dough and cover. Leave it for about 3 hours or until doubled in volume.
- Divide the dough into eight pieces of about 100 g each. Cup a hand over each portion and move it in a circle to form a ball. Lightly oil a rimmed tray, arrange the balls without touching and cover with a clean towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Leave for 1 to 1½ hours, until puffy.
- Lightly flour the counter. Pat one ball into an oval, then roll it as thin as possible into a sheet about 33 by 23 cm. If the dough resists, let it relax while you start rolling another piece, then return to it.
- Set a 50 cm cast-iron griddle over two burners and heat it over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until a sprinkle of water instantly evaporates. Drape one sheet over the griddle. Cook for about 1 minute, until it lifts easily with tongs and has puffed and blistered in places.
- Turn the sheet with tongs and cook the second side for no more than 30 seconds. For extra browning, turn it again for up to 30 seconds. Transfer to a tray and cover with a clean dry towel while cooking the rest. Monitor the griddle so it does not become too hot.
- Serve soon after cooking for pliable lavash. Longer cooking makes a crisper sheet; this method uses the shorter cook for fresh flexible bread.
Conditions
Yield8 sheets, about 33 by 23 cm each
Fermentation5.5–6.5 h
Places
Armenia
Modern adaptation · Country evidenceSmithsonian presents this modern home-griddle adaptation as inspired by Armenian master bakers and Armenian fieldwork. It is not a claim that every lavash tradition or outcome is Armenian.
Related
More from Armenia
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Sources
Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Cooking Up History; recipe by Kate Leahy, John Lee and Ara ZadaMethod · Ingredients · Yield · Geography · Home adaptation
LavashThe museum handout reprints with permission the authors' modern home adaptation inspired by Armenian master lavash bakers; it serves 8–10 and provides quantities for an old dough and main dough.
It describes old-dough fermentation, 20-minute hydration rest, hand kneading, bulk rise, portioning, final proof, thin rolling and a cast-iron griddle method with heat and turning cues.
The authors note that shorter griddle cooking keeps the fresh bread more pliable.
Cited in: A fresh griddle method
Smithsonian National Museum of American HistoryHistory · Geography
Cooking Up HistoryLists the November 15, 2019 event as Lavash: An Expression of Armenian Heritage, with Kate Leahy, John Lee and Ara Zada presenting the Armenian cookbook and their fieldwork.
Cited in: A fresh griddle method
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural HeritageHistory · Geography
Armenian Lavash Cooking Demonstration at American History MuseumDescribes the museum demonstration as Armenian lavash and says the cookbook authors would share stories from their travels in Armenia and prepare the country's signature flatbread.
Cited in: A fresh griddle method
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour can carry germs; do not taste raw dough, cook it before eating, and wash hands, bowls, utensils and countertops after flour or dough handling.