Lilikoi & Thyme

You may not know this, but I’m deep into a project I like to call, “Christine’s Continuing Education.”  I’ve been picking up odd catering jobs, bugging people I respect to let me come shadow them, and doing freelance jobs from food publicity to, well, just about anything. I find myself looking for an elegant, made-from-scratch finger food to keep on hand, and over and over I’ve been reaching for these versatile lavash crackers, adapted out of Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  They’re kind of a blank slate food; flavor them with Italian herbs and you’ve got a Mederranean party. 5-spice with sesame seeds give you an Asian feeling, or big salt crystals are beautiful and work well with just about anything.  So many options!

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of helping out Denise Vivaldo & Cindie Flannigan of Food Fanatics (the very best in the business, no joke) and photographer Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites at their food styling and photography seminar. I learned an enormous amount, met some fabulous people, and have a whole new set of tricks up my sleeve for beautiful pictures.  It was so great to spend two working days in Matt’s Long Beach studio (the props, my god, the props!). Seriously, I can’t recommend it enough–it was an invaluable addition to the “Continuing Education” quest, and a hell of a lot of fun with these hilarious, slightly crazy, and totally wonderful food professionals.  For the second day of the seminar, we had the opportunity to bring in our own projects to style and shoot with the help of all three experts.  Since I’m so in love with these lavash flatbread crackers right now, I was giddy like a little kid at the chance to bring them into Matt’s studio to style and shoot. And photograph we did.  Look!

Lavash Crackers (Adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice)

To get uniform shapes like these, cut the thinly rolled dough with a pizza cutter before they go into the oven, but after they’ve been sprinkled with their garnishes.  If you prefer a more dramatic organic shape, bake the sheets uncut, cool completely, and break into large shards by hand. The proportions are from Peter Reinhart, but I’ve adjusted the method slightly so it’s foolproof for me.

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup water, more if needed
• Seeds, herbs, and kosher salt for garnishing

Stir the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center, and add the honey, olive oil, and water. Stir with a spoon until the dough forms a shaggy ball.  If there’s a good amount of unincorporated flour, add a couple more tablespoons of water to bring it together.  Transfer to a floured board to knead by hand, or to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Knead 7-10 minutes, until the dough is nice and elastic and makes a transparent windowpane when a little bit is stretched between your fingers.  It should be fairly firm and satiny. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat all sides of the dough with oil, and cover it with plastic wrap.  Let it rise for about an hour and a half, or until it doubles in bulk.

Heat the oven to 350F.  Lightly spray the counter with oil, and turn the dough out onto it.  Divide the dough in two. Roll out the first half into a 10- by 15-inch rectangle, letting it rest for 5-10 minute elasticity breaks if it threatens to spring back into a wrinkly mass during rolling. Once it’s reached the desired dimensions, let it rest another 5 minutes to relax under a towel, then transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Brush the dough with water, and sprinkle with kosher salt and whatever other garnishes your heart desires.  Cut into strips with a pizza cutter if preferred, or leave the sheets whole to break later.  Bake 15-20 minutes, or until they reach an even, golden brown.  Let them cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then serve warm, or cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.