This month’s challenge is one of the great challenges for me. As I told you that I have a lot of cookbook and I can’t try them all, The Daring Bakers challenge is a great chance to try something new. I have this book (The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart) for a long time, and tried some of the recipes but I don’t even remember this one, haha, so this is the treasure found for me. But I have a little problem when making this cracker, after rolling it into paper thin, I found out that my oven temperature was not 350 degrees Fahrenheit yet. I had to wait for 15 minutes (I don’t know why, I already preheat it). So, my cracker was puff up a little bit and not crunchy as I wished, and now it turns chewy even I keep it in the box.
I made an avocado and olive dip, to serve with the cracker. I found the basic recipe in the Japanese cookbook but I add a lot of this and that to my taste. The how-to is so easy just throw everything in the food processor and process until blend, that is my dip.
Lavash Crackers & Toppings
| 1 ½ cups (6.75 oz) | unbleached bread flour |
| ½ tsp (.13 oz) | salt |
| ½ tsp (.055 oz) | instant yeast |
| 1 Tb (.75 oz) | agave syrup or sugar (I use honey) |
| 1 Tb (.5 oz) | vegetable oil |
| ⅓ to ½ cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) | water, at room temperature |
| | Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings |
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1. 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 ½ cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
2. 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 pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bre … ong-Enough for a discription of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), 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.
3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).
4. 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. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. 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.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 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, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) 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.
6. 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).
7. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.
Avocado Dip
Makes about ½ cup
| 1 | Avocado (peeled and diced) |
| 8 | Black olive (pitted) |
| 1 | Shallot (finely chopped) |
| 3 tbsp | Mayonnaise |
| | Juice from 1 lemon |
| | Salt and pepper |
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Put every ingredient in the food processor, process until blend.
Adjust the taste with more lemon juice or salt and pepper.
September 2008 Daring Bakers Challenge #22: Lavash Crackers & Toppings and Avocado Dip
Ooo, your lavash looks amazing! Great job on the dip as well!!
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