Armenians love to BBQ and a lot of their meat dishes are cooked on wood fires.

The large out door BBQ

I think this is such a clever way of preparing the coals and you have a steady supply

These ladies were preparing the traditional ‘Lavash’ bread.

The dough gets pulled and laid over a hard cushion and then slapped to the edges
of the big oven that is situated in the ground.

The old lady gave me her recipe for the bread, saying that traditionally they would not use yeast but let the dough ‘collect’ the natural yeast in the atmosphere, but progress got the better of her.

LAVASH
• 500 g strong flour
• 280 ml of warm water
• 2 teaspoons granulated yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

• mix all the ingredients together and start kneading until the dough becomes shiny and elastic
• if the dough seems too dry add a little more water, if too wet add more flour
• let it stand covered with a damp cloth for a few hours
• punch it down, kneed again and shape the Lavash into the shapes you want
• bake in a pre heated hot oven 220° until golden brown
• this should only take about 5 – 8 min. but every oven is different