a whisk and a spoon

Daring Bakers in September: Lavash Crackers & Toppings

This month we had our first “Alternative” Daring Bakers’ Challenge!  Natalie from Gluten A Go Go and Shel of Musings From the Fishbowl teamed up to bring us a two-part challenge.  The first part involved making homemade lavash.  Lavash are thin Armenian-style crackers.  They are very popular here in Australia, and packets go for big bucks in the gourmet stores.  Funny how easy it is to make them yourself!  Lavash are great with cheese, but the second part of this challenge was to concoct a vegan and gluten-free spread or dip to go with them.

Lavash dough is a simple yeasted dough, rolled out thin and often sprinkled with a seedy topping.  We were allowed to flavor the dough itself if we so desired, so I subbed a couple of tablespoons of the bread flour for wheat germ.  This gave the baked crackers a subtle, almost Wheat Thins-like flavor.  I made a full batch of the dough and divided it into two pieces–one to use straight away, and one to park overnight in the fridge.  I used different toppings and made a different spread for each.

When it came time to roll the dough, I busted out my pasta machine (for the first time since moving to Sydney, so I was glad to actually have used it and justified its move).  I’ve made some form of cracker in every restaurant I’ve worked in, and have always used a pasta machine to roll them out.  It makes such quick work of it and is the easiest, least frustrating way to get your crakcers paper thin.  Use the lasagna sheet section, work with one bit of dough at a time, and take it down to the thinnest setting.

For my first batch of cracker, I rolled out long, wide pieces that I sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds, cumin seeds, cayenne pepper and Kosher salt before baking (brushing on a little water first acts as glue for the topping).  I simply broke these big pieces into more manageable shards after baking.  I served them with a chunky avocado relish with heaps of cilantro, lemon juice and spices.

For my second batch of cracker, I got a bit more fussy.  Instead of just baking off big pieces in whatever form they took when rolled, I used a pastry wheel to cut them into rectangular crackers.  I sprinkled them with poppy seeds and Maldon salt.  I had a huge bag of fava beans (a.k.a broad beans) from the farmers’ market, so I took about half of them and whizzed them into a dip for this batch of lavash.

I was really pleased with challenge!  The lavash and dips made perfect pre-dinner snacks (with a glass of wine, not too shabby!).  And how impressed would your friends be if you served them homemade crackers at a dinner party?

Check out the DB blogroll!  And visit Gluten A Go Go or Musings From the Fishbowl for the lavash recipe (which was adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart).  I made my two spreads pretty much freehand, but the basic procedures are below.

Chunky Avocado Relish

1 avocado
leafy green herb (such as basil or cilantro)
juice of half a lemon
olive or avocado oil
ground spices to taste (I used garam masala, cayenne, and cumin)
salt and black pepper to taste

-Scoop out the avocado and dice into chunks.  Chop your herb.  In a small bowl, make a dressing from the lemon juice, a slight splash of oil, the spices and salt and pepper.  Add the avocado and herb to the bowl and toss gently to mix.

Fava Bean Dip

1 1/2 cups fava beans, shelled from the outer pod
1 clove of garlic
leafy green herb (such as basil, parsley or cilantro)
squirt of lemon juice
olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

-Bring a medium pot of water to the boil.  Blanch the fava beans for about thirty seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and shock in ice water.  Pop the garlic clove, peeled or unpeeled, into the boiling water and blanch for about 1 minute (this just helps take the edge off the raw garlic).

-Pop the papery outer skins off the blanched fava beans and discard.  Peel the garlic clove if you haven’t already, and rough chop.

-Put the fava beans, garlic, lemon juice, herbs, splash of olive oil, salt and pepper into a mini food processor.  Pulse until it’s the consistency you like (you can use a couple tablespoons of water to thin out, if needed).  Taste for seasoning.