How to Make Greek Puff Bread (Lavas)

 Over the holidays, we went to a Greek restaurant.  They served us some puff bread, and I thought it was so cool that I had to come home and figure out how to make it.  It is pretty easy to make and it is so fun to watch the bread puff up.  I have made this with white flour and with 100 percent whole wheat flour.  It worked perfectly each time.  

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

2 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Water to fill the rest of one cup after putting in oil first

Put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  In a 1 cup measuring cup, put in one tablespoon of olive oil.  Add warm,NOT hot water to equal one cup total.  Pour this over the dry ingredients and mix well.  Let the dough mix for 12-15 minutes.  Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed, part way through.

Gather up the dough into a ball and place it back into your bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and then a towel.  Let this rise for 50-60 minutes.

Divide the dough into between 4-8 parts, depending on how big you want your puff bread to be.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a towel and let it rise for 15 minutes.  Plastic wrap gets moisture on it when bread rises, so make sure the plastic wrap is dry if you are using the same plastic wrap you used previously.

Roll out the dough.  If it is too thin, it will be crispy.  If it is too thick, it will be doughy and probably won't puff up.  It may a few tries to figure out the right thickness.  You can see my the video how I make mine.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a towel and let it sit for another 15 minutes.  I usually heat my pan on a medium heat when I start the last timer for 15 minutes.  I would suggest a cast iron type pan, but in the video I tried a non-stick pan as well, and they both worked fine.  I feel hesitant to heat up a non-stick pan for 15 minutes.  I usually heat it up for less time and keep a close eye on it.  Why do you heat up the pan ahead of time?  Well, you want it to be hot when you put the dough into the pan.

Put one loaf of dough into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side. Be careful not to cut into or break the air bubble as it starts to rise.  You also need to be careful when turning it over.  

I used to make pita puff bread in the oven, but I feel like I have more control when I do it on a burner.  I love to watch it puff up and it tastes so yummy!  Sometimes you may have a loaf that doesn't puff up properly.  While it may be disappointing when this happens, the bread still tastes really good.