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In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, yeast, honey, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball.
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You may not need the full 1/2 cup water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
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3
Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter.
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4
Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
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5
The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58)and register 77 to 81F.
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6
The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call a medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled.
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7
Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
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9
Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
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10
(You can also instead retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading.)
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11
Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter.
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12
Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.
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13
Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper-thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches.
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14
You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax.
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15
At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down.
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Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes.
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When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes.
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18
Line a sheet pan with baking parchment.
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19
Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment.
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If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.
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Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
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22
Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.).
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23
Be careful with spices; a little goes a long way.
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24
If you want precut crackers, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough.
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25
You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking.
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If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.
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Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).
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28
When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
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29
You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.
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30
Enriched, stiff dough; flat; direct method; commercial yeast
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31
10 to 15 minutes mixing; 2 hours fermentation, shaping, and panning; 15 to 20 minutes baking
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This dough, almost as stiff as bagel dough, is easier to knead by hand than in a machine.
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33
You can make a softer variation, used for making roll-up pinwheel sandwiches, by rolling the dough a little thicker than described and slightly underbaking the uncut sheet, so that the cracker is stiff but not crackly crisp.
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When ready to make the roll-up, mist the cracker with water and it will magically soften within 3 to 5 minutes and be as workable as a flour tortilla.
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35
This same dough makes a nice pita bread: Simply roll out 6-ounce pieces of the finished dough into 8-inch-diameter circles (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick), and bake them in a 500F oven on a baking stone or on a sheet pan.
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36
Bake just until they inflate and form a pocket.
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Count to 10, then remove the breads from the oven with a peel or a spatula before they brown and crisp.
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When they cool (and slowly deflate), they can be cut in half and used for pocket sandwiches.
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39
Lavash Crackers %
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40
Bread flour: 100%
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41
Salt: 1.9%
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42
Instant yeast: .81%
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43
Honey: 11.1%
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44
Oil: 7.4%
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Water (approx.
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46
): 51.9%
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47
Total: 173.1%
