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Lavash

Varieties of lavash
Type	Flatbread
Place of origin	Armenia
Main ingredients	Flour, water, salt
Media: Lavash

Lavash (Template:Lang-hy; Template:Lang-fa; Template:Lang-tr) is a soft, thin flatbread of Armenian or Iranian origin, popular in the Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and some other countries.

In 2014 "Lavash, the preparation, meaning and appearance of traditional bread as an expression of culture in Armenia" was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Etymology

Hrach Martirosyan tentatively connects Armenian լավաշ lavaš with dialectal լափ lapʿ, լուփ lupʿ, լովազ lovaz ‘palm, flat of the hand’, լափուկ lapʿuk, լեփուկ lepʿuk ‘flat, polished stone for playing’, լավազ lavaz ‘very thin’ and assumes derivation from Proto-Armenian *law- ‘flat’. He remarks that semantically this is conceivable since this bread is specifically flat and thin. He then proceeds:

If this interpretation is correct, the Armenian should be regarded as the source of the others. This is probable since, as Ačaṙyan (HAB 2: 308a) informs, *lavaš is considered to be Armenian bread in both Yerevan and Iran (being opposed with sangak for Turks and Persians), and in Tehran this bread is called nūn-i armanī ‘Armenian bread’. Similar data can be found also for other regions. In Dersim, for instance, lavaš is seen as characteristic for Armenian hospitality whereas the Kurdish entertain with sači hacʿ .

Overview

Lavash is the most widespread type of bread in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran.

Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a clay oven. While quite flexible when fresh, lavash dries out quickly and becomes brittle and hard. The soft form is easier to use when making wrap sandwiches; however, the dry form can be used for long-term storage (almost one year) and is used instead of leavened bread in Eucharist traditions by the Armenian Apostolic Church. In Armenian villages, the dried lavash is stacked high in layers to be used later, and when the time comes to rehydrate the bread, it is sprinkled with water to make it softer again. In its dry form, left-over lavash is used in Iran to make quick meals after being rehydrated with water, butter and cheese. In Armenia the dried bread is broken up into khash. In Armenia fresh lavash is used to wrap Khorovats and to make wraps with herbs and cheese. In Iran, Turkey and middle-east lavash is used with kebabs to make dürüm wraps. According to the Encyclopedia International, "Common to all Armenians is their traditional unleavened bread, lavash, which is a staple in the Armenian diet."

Lavash is made with flour, water, and salt. The thickness of the bread varies depending on how thin it was rolled out. Toasted sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds are sometimes sprinkled on before baking.

In Kashmir it is known as Lavase. It is one of the basic bread products; Kashmiri people consume it on a regular basis for breakfast. As a tradition, Kashmiri Pandits distribute lavase among neighbours, friends and relatives on several occasions, as a symbol of good omen and abundance of food. Lavase pieces with green walnut kernels folded between them are considered a delicacy.

See also

• Taftan, an Iranian bread very similar to lavash, but thicker
• Sangak, another Iranian bread
• Barbari bread, another Iranian bread
• Matnakash, an Armenian bread
• Lavaş cheese
• Tandyr nan (ru), a Central Asian version of flatbread made in tandoor (thick)

References

1. "lavash - definition and meaning". ahdictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved 30 November 2014. A thin unleavened flatbread of Armenian origin.
2. Albala, Ken (ed.). Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 5. ISBN 9780313376269. ...on lavash, a traditional flatbread of Armenia similar to tortilla...
3. Khanam, R. (2005). Encycl. Ethnography Of Middle-East And Central Asia (3 Vols. Set) (1st ed.). New Delhi: Global Vision. p. 55. ISBN 9788182200623. The t'onir is a round hole dug in the ground, which can be used for baking Armenian flat bread (lavash) and for heating the home in winter.
4. Goldstein, Darra (1999). A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality (2nd ed.). Montpelier, VT: Russian Life Books. p. 185. ISBN 9781880100424. Armenian Flat Bread Lavash: Lavash has been banked for centuries in Armenia.
5. Linda Keller Brown, Kay Mussell (15 August 1984). Ethnic Regional Foodways United States: Performance of Group Identity. University of Tennessee Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0870494192. Also from Armenian foodways, but with origins in Iran, comes lavash, a crusty, thin, oval bread not carried in Molokan markets but popularly purchased from Los Angeles Armenian bakeries.
6. Alan Davidson (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. p. 456. ISBN 978-0192806819. Lavash a thin crisp bread usually made with wheat flour made in a variety of shapes all over the regions of the Caucasus, Iran (where it is often so thin as to be like tissue and can be almost seen through), and Afghanistan. It is leavened and baked in a tandoor. Lavash is served with kebabs and is used to scoop up food or wrap round food before being eaten. The Turkish yufka is similar, but is unleavened and cooked on a griddle, called a saj. Its origins are ancient and it is also known as lavaş depending on the region. As in the other countries of this region large batches of this bread are made and stored for long periods. In Turkey they are stored on a board suspended by all four corners from the ceiling. The bread becomes dry and is restored by sprinkling with water and reheated as and when needed. Yufka is also used in the same way as filo pastry to encase various fillings.
7. "Lavash, the preparation, meaning and appearance of traditional bread as an expression of culture in Armenia". unesco.org. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
8. Martirosyan, Hrach (2010). Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 305. ISBN 9789004173378.
9. Adjarian, Hrachia. Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Dictionary of Armenian Root Words] (in Armenian). Vol. II. Yerevan: Yerevan State University. p. 308.
10. The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Making Classic Breads with the Cutting-edge Techniques of a Bread Master
11. Encyclopedia international, Volume 2. Lexicon Publications. 1980. p. 39.

External links

• Lavash in Dictionary.com
• International Journal of Food Science and Technology Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 469-479.

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