Armenian Lavash

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add warm water and oil. Mix with your hand until a cohesive, firm dough forms — lavash is a lean, unleavened dough, and it should be noticeably stiffer than bread dough. It should clear the bowl sides and not stick to your hands when handled with any pressure. Knead briefly in the bowl for 2–3 minutes to bring it together. The dough will feel tough and resistant — this is correct. High-gluten development is what allows it to stretch paper-thin without tearing.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or cover the bowl with a damp towel. Rest at room temperature for 60 minutes. This rest is essential: without it the gluten is too tense and elastic to roll thin — it will spring back and resist every pass of the rolling pin. After an hour the gluten relaxes completely and the dough will stretch effortlessly to paper-thin without tearing.

Divide the dough into 6–8 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, use a thin rolling pin to roll each piece as thin as humanly possible — you are aiming for 1–2 mm or less, roughly the thickness of a playing card. Roll from the center out, rotating 90 degrees after each pass. The lavash is thin enough when you can see the outline of your hand through it when held up to light. Scatter sesame seeds evenly over the surface and roll over them once lightly to press in. If rolling in batches, keep unrolled pieces covered to prevent drying.

Preheat a baking stone, cast-iron griddle, or heavy skillet over high heat for at least 10 minutes — or heat an oven to its maximum with a stone inside. The cooking surface must be aggressively hot. Drape a lavash sheet directly onto the hot surface. It will blister and bubble in under 60 seconds. When the bottom shows charred spots and the edges curl slightly, flip with tongs and cook 20–30 seconds more on the second side. Remove immediately. Stack cooked lavash and cover with a towel — they will steam-soften into pliable sheets. For crisp lavash, leave uncovered to air-dry.