Lavash

Well, after making a quintessentially New England loaf last week, I thought it only fitting to go with something a bit more international this time. So, this week it's lavash (also spelled lavosh, lahvosh, and so on), as another request from Masha. As an aside, other than it's variety of spellings, lavash also apparently has a variety of meanings...trying to look it up online quickly reveals that it is both "a leavened flatbread of Armenian origin" and "an unleavened Armenian flatbread." Go figure. Anyway, I've gone with a leavened version; hopefully it'll be slightly more lunch-appropriate.

This is a fairly easy (and quick) bread to make: start off by proofing 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast in just less than 1 cup of warm water mixed with 3/4 of a tablespoon of sugar. After a few minutes, mix together with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of all-purpose flour, and 1 3/4 cups of bread flour. (If you guessed that that ratio of flour was dictated less by my recipe and more by the contents of my cupboard, you'd be correct!)

Anyway, knead for an extra-long amount of time (I wasn't really paying attention, but longer than usual, despite how easy the dough is to work with), and then put in an oiled bowl, cover, and let stand for the

First rising (1 hour and 35 minutes)
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Earlier this week I had the distinct pleasure of having one of the most surreal experiences of my time so far here in the Midwest. One of my co-workers needed help running an errand for the local bike co-op and, as it turned out, needed help getting a tandem bike (with a small trailer to haul some stuff...hence the errand) there and back. Well, I had never ridden a tandem bike before, but why not, right?

Well, it turned out this was no normal tandem bike, but rather a special one that featured the person steering facing in the usual, forward-looking direction, but had the second person (a.k.a. "me" in this case) looking backwards. (And, as it turns out, having to pedal backwards as well.) This, while mildly headache-inducing during turns, was also incredibly amusing. Pedaling on the street, waving, and getting utterly bemused looks from drivers directly behind the bike was quite the experience. To be fair, the bike is a pretty bizarre sight, so I can't blame folks for getting a chuckle out of it (and, again to be fair, I'm sure my having to take a phone call while merrily pedaling backwards looked doubly peculiar). Oh, I also got quite a kick out of the small mirror attached to the bike helmet I was borrowing, allowing me to see forwards if I were to so choose.

But, I think my favorite moments, more than just looking backwards at traffic, were while we were biking on the bike paths around campus, and so were passing students walking on the sidewalks. There was something interesting in getting to see the bewildered expressions and double takes of students as we passed by, followed by the immediate checking of those expressions as they realized that I, looking and pedaling backwards as I was, could see them.

Then, of course, there was the delicious coda to the whole thing...appearing in the form of a fantastic "thank-you" pecan pie a few days later...A trade I'm pretty sure I would make any day of the week!
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Punch the dough down, and then knead for another 5 minutes or so. Divide the dough into six roughly equal portions, roll into little balls, cover, and let rise.

Second rising (30 minutes)
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So, happy as I was about the whole tandem bike thing, there were a pair of things I was mildly disheartened by this week. First, Moonstruck, my third-favorite coffee shop suddenly and mysteriously closed, with no warning whatsoever. Now, I'm not at all sure that it was actually my third-favorite coffee-shop...I don't really have a set ranking...but I certainly did like it. And, with its combination of late hours, good study or relaxing atmosphere, and excellent desserts, it's certainly the one I visited the most. So, I was sad to see it go.

Second, today I was shredding some cheese (cheddar from Ilchester, if you were wondering) to go with the taco salad I was making for dinner, when I happened to notice on the package the following advisory: "WARNING: Contains milk!" Well, of course, I was rather amused at the exclamation mark, but otherwise sad that a block of cheese had to have a warning that it contained milk. I mean...really? That's just one or two steps removed from a jug of milk labeled "WARNING: Milk contains milk!"
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Set the oven to 400 degrees. While it's heating up, roll out each ball into a very flat um...shape. Aim for either a rectangle or circle, but for aesthetic reasons I'd recommend not being as indecisive as I apparently was while making these. In any event, brush the tops of each portion with cold water, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 minutes.

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Tasting verdict: Nice! Really, the bread tastes pretty much like the recipe seems like it would. But the texture is excellent: the bread is just thick enough to avoid being a crispy cracker, but thin enough to be more distinctive than just any other slice of bread. I'm a little sceptical about whether the pieces would keep for very long, but somehow...somehow I'm not sure that'll be an issue.