Lavosh: Cracker Or Bread?

We’ve been making lavosh at La Tour Bakehouse for quite some time, and we’re pretty sure we’ve nailed down how to make a delicious lavosh by now. It all starts with the dough, which is made from scratch in the early morning every single day. After we run the dough through a machine that rolls it into a nice uniform thickness (or rather thin-ness), we spread it over a sheet pan, cut it into squares (we omit this step if we want full sheets), and bake it in the oven. What comes out is a super natural, satisfyingly crunchy, and surprisingly light lavosh, perfect for any occasion.

However, while we’ve mastered how to produce lavosh, we can’t purport to be experts on all aspects of the topic. For one, we still haven’t figured out the answer to the question “Is lavosh a cracker or a bread?”. And so, we embark on the search for truth. Online, of course.

Luckily for us, we don’t have to venture too far. According to the Epicurious Food Dictionary, lavosh (pronounced lah-vohsh and also spelled lahvosh, lavash, lawaash, and lawasha ) is an Armenian cracker bread. So, there’s our answer we’ve been looking for –  lavosh is both cracker and bread. That makes sense. On the one hand, it’s light and simple enough to serve the function of a cracker – a fine accompaniment for jams, cheeses, and meats or a healthier, less salty alternative to  potato chips.  On the other hand, though, it’s substantial and complex enough to provide the base for entire meals.

To help convince you of its magical powers, here are several recipes courtesy of the Food Network, the Good Food Channel, and a fellow blogger that showcase lavosh in a multitude of ways.

Appetizer: Lavosh Nachos with Cauliflower Guacamole

Salad: Mixed Green Salad with Lavosh

Entrée: Smoked Cheese and Ham Lavosh Pizzas

Dessert: Apple and Cranberry Dip with Lavosh

There you have it, folks. The versatile cracker bread that does it all. Don’t waste any more time, energy, money, and mostly importantly, taste, on those generic saltines or high-end pita chips. We have an array of lavosh flavors to suit all of your needs and desires – plain, sesame, taro, mango, polenta, fennel, and macadamia nut – and we’re serving them up today and every Thursday from 5:30pm to 7pm at the Kailua market . Get crackin’!