9/11/2010 - Lavash Crackers

I had no idea when I was going to make this one, because it didn't seem like these crackers would fill any niche in our day to day diet, and I'm all about meal planning around the baking that I do. But we had a Mission Sunday at church with a potluck that was supposed to feature international foods. So I decided to bring the Middle East in addition to a Norwegian dessert.

I mixed and kneaded the dough, and I left it to rise. Then I misted the counter with oil, and rolled out the dough to the thickness I thought I wanted. I was a little skeptical about transferring the rolled-out dough to a parchment lined baking sheet, but it held together beautifully and didn't stick to the counter at all. Then I misted the surface of the dough with water and topped it with rows of sesame seeds, caraway seeds, and paprika. I cut the dough into diamonds with a pizza cutter and popped the baking sheet in the oven. PR says they should take 15-20 minutes to brown across the top. Mine took almost twice that long and they puffed up a little during the baking. I realized about halfway through baking them that I had probably made them way too thick, at least in the middle.

When I got them out and tried one of the ugly ones, I decided that, yes, I should have rolled them out thinner. The edges were the right thickness and delightfully crispy, but the centers were too thick and lacking that crispiness. They were still fine, and I still brought them. But these might be worth another shot.