The key to the crisp lavash is to roll out the dough evenly and paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking.

1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 to1/2 cup water, at room temperature

  • In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, yeast, honey,oil and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup water.
  • 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 be 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.
  • Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes,or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also instead retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading.)
  • 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. 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.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F 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, anise seeds, kosher salt, etc.). If you want precut crackers, use a knife 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.
  • 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).
  • When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Source: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

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