- ODE TO ARMENIAN BREAD -
21 октября 2013
Continuing ethno-gastronomic researches in the small Armenian village located in Georgia, we have come up to the most favorite product of many nations at all times. The product that frequently had been hero of songs,
myths and novels and that had always been the essential symbol of survival and
prosperity of all nations at all continents of the globe.
BREAD.
Perhaps, today it
is difficult to meet a person that has never heard about lavash. Indeed, it has
become international and it has been spread all over the world and has been
included into our everyday diet so that we sometimes forget about its roots,
and moreover, about its interesting cooking process.
Normally lavash is
baked from wheat flour. Flour should be
passed through a sieve, then yeast should be added (or, according to tradition,
special ferment), then salt and water. After that dough should be mixed and left
for a night. Next morning the mixture should be divided into small balls and rolled out. Traditionally a
bride carries out the mission of pinning out, then she passes thin “pancake” to
her mother-in-law that is sitting next to a tandoor (or tonir, special stove
and fire-pan). Firstly dough should be thrown up from hand to hand, then it
should be strained on a special pillow, and then it should be thrown into the
inside wall of a tandoor. Normally 30-40 seconds are enough for cooking. After natural cooling lavash shall be put in piles in 8-10 rows. In the air it
drives up quickly, but like this it cannot be kept for a long time, no less
than 1 month.
Another type of bread is also made from the same dough, but this bread is more
dome shaped, it is called “buludj”.
Crumby lavash can be used for folding into “stuffed pancakes” different stuffings and other culinary manipulations depending on your imagination. By the way, when required, dry lavash can be wetted with water and left for one hour, covered by fabric, and then it gets its natural taste.
Bari ahojak! Bon appetit!
