This lavash bread recipe is easy, reliable and made with simple ingredients. Lavash is soft and perfect for wraps and sandwiches. Learn how to make this bread at home with this how-to tutorial and my notes and tips.
Nothing beats warm homemade bread and we have some of the best here! From our classic Persian barbari and sourdough barbari to simit and no yeast naan, you can find a bread recipe that you like. Today I'm going to show you how to make lavash, a classic Middle Eastern bread that's loved by many. This recipe is no fail and foolproof, you don't need any specific skills to make it and it tastes delicious!
Table Of Contents:
Lavash bread - A simple staple of many cuisines
Lavash is a soft and flat bread that can be folded easily to make sandwiches and wraps. It's popular in countries such as Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Traditionally, lavash is made in tanoor (brick or wood oven) or on saj Tava, however, you can also use a nonstick pan or griddle to make this bread.
As for the origin, there are debates about whether the bread is originally from Iran, Turkey or Armenia. Therefore it's considered a regional staple and not specific to one country.
3 tips to make the best lavash
- Always keep a towel on the dough balls while rolling them out one by one. If not covered with a towel, the balls will develop a hard surface which would prevent the bread from bubbling.
- Make sure you dough is kneaded well. It should feel supple and soft but not too sticky. Avoid adding more flour than what is intended in the recipe.
- Keep a plate and a kitchen towel on the counter for the lavash breads that are cooked. Place each cooked lavash on the plate and immediately cover with a towel to avoid drying out. You can stack them.
Ingredients
- Water and milk: Warm water and milk are the liquid part of this recipe. I use a combination of milk and water to make sure the dough is supple and soft and the flavor is perfect. It's important the the milk and water are not too hot as it would kill the yeast or too cold and the yeast wouldn't bloom. You can use 2% or whole milk.
- Vegetable oil: While my choice for this recipe is vegetable oil, you can use any other neutral flavored oil to make this recipe. I don't suggest using butter since it would change the texture and flavor.
- Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast. If using active dry yeast, please activate it in water and milk for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Flour: Regular all purpose flour works just fine for this recipe. If using whole wheat flour, don't use more than 50% of the whole amount of flour used in the recipe since it would make the lavash dry and hard.
How to make lavash bread
This lavash recipe is easy, simple and foolproof. Simply mix, rise, shape and cook! Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make homemade lavash.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix warm water, warm milk, vegetable oil, sugar, salt and instant yeast to combine. Make sure your yeast is "instant" and doesn't need extra time to activate.
Slowly add the flour to the water and milk mixture and mix so the dough comes together. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook and knead for about 8 minutes until the dough comes together.
It's also possible to make the dough by hand. Transfer the dough to a lightly flour surface and knead to about 10 minutes until it comes together. The dough will be just a bit sticky.
Rest and rise
Form the dough into a ball and rub some oil on the surface. Place it in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Then leave in a draft-free place such as an off oven or microwave to rise for 40 minutes.
Shape the dough
After 40 minutes, punch down the dough gently and divide it into 20 pieces. Shape each dough into a ball and cover them all with a kitchen towel so they don't dry.
Cook lavash in a pan
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Generously flour your surface and rolling pin. Grab one of the dough balls and cover the rest with the towel. Roll out the dough to be very thin. Place it on the pan and cook for about 45 to 60 seconds until bubbles start to appear. Flip and cook on the other side for 45 seconds until it's fully cooked. Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
Serving suggestions
Lavash is one of the most versatile breads and there are so many things you can do with it. Here are a few suggestions:
- Serve for breakfast with some fried eggs, cheese, labneh, jam or butter. It also goes well with dishes such as menemen (Turkish eggs and tomatoes), Cilbir (Turkish poached eggs in yogurt sauce) or nargesi (Persian eggs and spinach).
- Make a wrap with lavash, some kind of protein such as kofte kebab, shish kabob, shish tawook, kabab tabe i (Persian pan kebab) or joojeh kabab, greens, onions and tomatoes.
Frequently asked questions
Flatbread is usually crispy whereas lavash is softer and can easily be folded. Lavash is also thinner than flatbread and is usually shaped into a circle.
This is a homemade bread which means it doesn't contain any preservatives and therefore, it won't keep forever. Lavash keeps well for about two days in a bread bag at room temperature and then for up to a week if refrigerated.
The main reason for a dough not doing well is because of the yeast not being activated. If the liquid is too hot or too cold, the yeast will not activate. The ideal temperature is between 115°F and 120°F.
Lavash dries out easily therefore it's best to keep it in a bread bag or a ziploc bag. However, if it dries a bit, sprinkle with just a few drops of water and then microwave for 10 seconds.
More Bread Recipes
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter to get a free e-Cookbook!
Step-by-Step Recipe
Easy Lavash Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or other neutral flavored oils
- ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 3 ½ cup all purpose flour plus more for dusting the surface
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix water, milk, oil, sugar, salt and instant yeast.
- Slowly add in the flour and mix using your hands or stand mixer until the dough comes together. This would take between 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be a bit sticky.
- Rub a bit of oil all over the dough and place it in a large bowl. Cover and let it rise for 40 minutes. (I usually let mine rise in an "off" oven)
- After 40 minutes, gently deflate the dough and divide it into 20 pieces. shape each piece into a ball. Cover them all with a kitchen towel so they don't dry as you cook them.
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Flour your surface and your rolling dough very well. Place a dough ball on the surface and roll it out to be very thin.
- Place it on the hot pan and cook for 45 seconds to one minute. There will be bubbles. Flip and cook on the other side for about 30-45 seconds. Place the bread on a plate and cover with a kitchen towel.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
Notes
- Make sure the water and milk are not too hot or too cold. If they are too hot, the yeast would die and if too cold, the yeast won't activate. The ideal temperature is between 115°F and 120°F.
- Lavash dries out easily therefore it's best to keep it in a bread bag or a ziploc bag. However, if it dries a bit, sprinkle with just a few drops of water and then microwave for 10 seconds.
- Make sure you dough is kneaded well. It should feel supple and soft but not too sticky. Avoid adding more flour than what is intended in the recipe.
- It's important to keep a towel on the dough balls while rolling them out one by one. If not covered with a towel, the balls will develop a hard surface which would prevent the bread from bubbling.
- Keep a plate and a kitchen towel on the counter for the lavash breads that are cooked. Place each cooked lavash on the plate and immediately cover with a towel to avoid drying out. You can stack them.
Fatma
Just made this recipe and my kids loved i loved it too, so easy and quick… i have a question about the nutrition value so its based on 1 bread (if i made 9 balls each 100g how can i know the calories?) hope you can help me 🥰
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
It would be about 190cal, we use a plugin to calculate the nutrition facts that it's possible that this wouldn't be 100% accurate.
Bill
Thank you for this recipe!
I just tried for the first time and encountered some problems.
I followed exactly the steps and the quantities, the only modification I did is, as suggested, to substitute some AP flour (one-third) for wholewheat flour.
After having let chill the dough for about one hour (covered as recommended), I was about to divide the dough into 20 pieces but the boule was still so sticky that I could barely manipulate it, although it had doubled in volume thanks to the correct fermentation, and although I had kneaded it energetically for more than 10 minutes (in the previous step), I don't know at all what is the reason to this, maybe because of the wholewheat included?
Also, I had a big concern about the size of each piece, I found it very very small, the best diameter I could achieve for having a 2mm thickness, was about 5-6 inches. I'm used to much bigger ones, so to those like me, I would recommend dividing the dough into 8 pieces max to have 15 inches pieces of bread with about 2mm of thickness.
Please let me know if you spotted what I'm doing wrong and why my dough was still so sticky, I want to try this recipe again but I don't want to waste ingredients and make the same mistake again.
Also, to the author of the recipe, I would be very grateful if you could tell me the expected diameter/thickness when you divide your dough into 20 pieces.
Thank you!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Bill, thank you for your comment. The stickiness of the dough could be related to measuring the flour. Please check out this article: https://sugarspunrun.com/how-to-measure-flour/
As for the size, yes, these would give 20 lavash, each as big as a regular pan, about 10 inches. If rolling out gets tricky and the dough keeps shrinking, let it rest for a bit more and try again. Hope this helps.
Brandy
This was my first time making this bread and it came out great. Your directions and recipe were easy to follow. I will be making this often!
Kris
So easy to make and absolutely delicious! Can't wait to make again. Thank you! 🙂
Ieva
LOVED it! So easy to make and deliciously soft, perfect for rolling delicious fillings in! Thanks!
Sara Welch
These are some great tips and tricks!; Looking forward to giving this a try; definitely too good to pass up, indeed!
Anjali
I love lavash bread but I had no idea how easy it was to make it from scratch at home! Can't wait to try this soon!
Swathi
This Lavash bead looks delicious delicious and easy to make it too. I will try sourdough version of it.
Raana
We are maximum 2-3 people (small family) and to make 20 is to much can you possible provide the quantities for 4-6 lavash..I am looking forward to a response please. Many thanks. Sorry for the bother.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
This makes 20 pretty small lavash breads (about 10 inches each) and you can refrigerate them if needed. However, you can also use divide the measurements in half.
Amanda
Made this last night, it came out so delicious. I’m in Hawaii now where so do not have access to Lavash. The only thing I had problems with is after it was thinned (I used a tortilla press) as soon as I picked it up to put on the hot griddle, it shrunk up significantly and I couldn’t keep it thin. Although delicious, It ended up more of the thickness of pita. Do you have any advice to keep it then?
Thanks! I’ll be making this again!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Amanda, there are 2 reasons for shrinking: the dough didn't rest enough for the gluten to form or the tortilla press. Maybe rolling out using a rolling pin would keep the shape better!
Fran Anderson
Good morning, just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your recipes. I have become quite interested in Turkish food since watching a Turkish show, Black Money, Love. The breakfasts have especially interested me. I am wondering if there is a special bread that is used for making pepper bread? I have managed to purchase some red pepper paste from a Turkish store and attempted to make it using a thin pizza crust (store bought) and although it was alright, I am pretty sure this is not very original. On the show they have this gorgeous looking red that appears to be baked into the dough, rather than just applied on top. It is something I would really like to make authentically, but so many recipes I have checked out do not appear to be the one I am searching for. Can you help me out?
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Fran, Thank you for your comment. Can you send me a photo of this bread that you mentioned? shadi@unicornsinthekicthen.com
I think I know the bread you mentioned, we do have a recipe for it and it's coming soon!
katie
WOW wow WOW!!! truth be told i meant to make another recipe i found online but then realized i was making the wrong one after it was too late. im glad i made the mistake because these were insane!!! the best i ever had. so light and fluffy yet with that lavash flavor, perfectly browned! my husband ate 6, we just couldnt stop!!. we used to make mediterranean tacos, i froze the remainder-not sure how they will do with that. 20 lavash made great sized breads. my kids gobbled these up too. they're great with some warm honey. yum! 10 stars!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Katie! How fun! I'm happy this was a happy accident with good results!
Zlatica
Can lavash be made earlier and warmed up
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Yes, you can keep it in a plastic wrap and heat it later.
Danny
Love this recipe!
Can I freeze rolled out dough? And if so can I cook straight from frozen or do I need to thaw first?
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Danny, thank you for your comment. You can freeze the rolled out dough, roll them out, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for about one hour, then you can place them in a bag with parchment paper between each layer. I haven't cooked lavash from frozen, but I think it would work if you let it sit for a few minutes.
Farah Maizar
This look so good! I love experimenting with homemade breads but have never heard of this, can't wait to try it out!