A popular flour product of oriental cuisine, lavash, has long been no longer exotic for us. Armenian bread can be purchased at any supermarket or made yourself. And there are a lot of recipes for its further use. Essentially it is a flat cake made of flour, water and salt with a diameter of 40 - 50 cm, round or slightly elongated. Thinly rolled dough, even after baking, quickly loses its consumer qualities. Therefore, the question of how to store pita bread so as not to dry out and become moldy worries many housewives.
How to choose
To purchase fresh pita bread, when purchasing, pay attention to the date of its production. It should be taken into account that the shelf life of lavash (72 hours) is counted not from the time it appears on the counter, but from the moment it is baked. In addition, the conditions of transportation and storage must be met, otherwise the shelf life of the product will be significantly reduced.
In sealed plastic packaging, flour products become damp very quickly. Therefore, before storing Armenian thin lavash at home, it is checked for the presence of mold.
A high-quality product has a uniform color, a matte surface, good elasticity and resilience. Minor stretching and other types of deformation do not lead to ruptures due to the slightly “rubbery” structure of fresh pita bread. An already dried product does not have such capabilities.
Real Armenian bread of good quality has no foreign odors, except for the aroma of wheat baked goods.
Terms and conditions of storage
Before buying lavash, you need to make sure it is fresh, pay attention to its appearance and date of manufacture.
Thin pita bread most often has a limited shelf life of no more than 72 hours (3 days). But you should always rely on the information on the packaging. Each manufacturer has different storage conditions. You can buy pita bread with an expiration date:
- 7 days and storage temperature +25…-20°C;
- 5 days at the recommended temperature range +5…+10°С;
- 2 days with storage at a temperature not lower than +6°C, etc.
It should be taken into account that this period does not count from the moment of delivery to the counter, but rather from leaving the bakery, subject to the conditions of storage in the warehouse and during transportation.
Any baked goods stored in polyethylene quickly become damp, so it is not advisable to buy the product in a completely sealed container. Before you put the pita bread into the bread bin or refrigerator, you should check it at home for mold.
Signs of a quality product:
- elastic dough. It should stretch and be elastic to the touch;
- smooth, without tears, pleasant uniform matte color;
- The smell of wheat bread is not mixed with foreign aromas, especially chemical fragrances.
Storage conditions
How long pita bread can be stored depends on external conditions. To keep the product fresh longer, you need to choose a dry place for it. It is best to wrap it in a linen napkin or other natural, breathable fabric and place it in a bread bin. It is better if the bread box is wooden. But polymer and metal products are also quite suitable.
It is not advisable to store Armenian lavash in sealed bags, where the product will quickly become damp and moldy.
Flour baked goods have increased hygroscopicity. Therefore, in addition to moisture, Armenian thin bread is able to absorb all surrounding aromas.
For those who purchased obviously wet pita bread, there is a good recommendation. Keep it in the manufacturer's airtight container near the freezer. Depending on the refrigerator model, this may be the top or bottom shelf.
How to restore softness
If the pita bread has become stale, there is a way to “bring it back to life”:
- Pour water into the pan, place a wire rack or a smaller pan on top, turned upside down. Place bread on top.
- This structure must be covered with a lid from a large saucepan and placed on low heat.
- The water will boil, and in an improvised steam bath the pita bread will regain its softness.
In its native Armenia, after cooking, lavash is dried in the sun, laid out in piles and stored in special large bread bins that look like cabinets. However, with such long-term storage, the flatbreads become brittle, so Armenians spray them with water from a spray bottle before eating, restoring their elasticity. Or the bread is placed on a damp towel and served after half an hour. At the same time, it retains its taste if it does not absorb foreign odors during storage.
Tip of the day
If it was still not possible to properly preserve the pita bread, dry, brittle strips can replace the crackers served with a hot dish.
Freezing
Can you store pita bread in the freezer? Undoubtedly yes, provided that a number of conditions are met. Long-term storage of the product can be ensured using cling film or parchment paper. A well-packaged product is placed in the freezer for up to 6 months at temperatures below -18°C. At a higher freezing temperature, baked goods will “last” for about 3 months.
Required for freezing.
- Pack the product well using parchment or food grade film.
- Place the baked goods in such a way that neighboring foods cannot deform them.
- In the event of sudden (or planned) defrosting of the chamber, take care to create appropriate temporary storage conditions for the product.
Before use, the frozen cake should not be removed from the packaging. It can be restored to its original state in natural conditions or using a microwave. The hermetically packaged product should be placed there for 10 seconds.
It should be taken into account that the shelf life of pita bread in the refrigerator may be shorter than in a regular bread box. A sealed plastic bag is the worst packaging for this product. Although in principle there are no other options for storing Armenian bread in the refrigerator.
How to freeze: tips
Freezing does not spoil the taste of such a product as lavash. Before freezing a sheet of bread, stock up on cling film or parchment. In these materials it will be protected from freezing to the walls of the chamber, as well as from foreign odors. Place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer of dough. For storage, roll everything up.
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Storing flatbreads in the freezer is possible from 2 to 6 months. For comparison: baked goods can be kept at room temperature for no more than 5 days.
Tip It is better to cut the flatbread into several smaller pieces and remove them from the freezer as needed.
After removing the frozen pita bread, just warm it in the oven or microwave for 10-20 seconds. No need to unfold!
Check your pita bread for mold already in the store. Especially often it hides in the folds of the flatbread. Use oriental bread to prepare homemade shawarma, pizza, rolls with different fillings, and serve it as a side dish. The softer the pita bread, the tastier the snack turns out.
How to bring back freshness
The shelf life of flour products is very limited. But there are ways to restore the freshness of lavash:
- spray with drinking water, cover with a cotton towel and leave for 10 - 15 minutes;
- place the dried pita bread on a damp cloth;
- steam in the microwave (it will help “revive” even dried flat cakes);
- “steam bath” (in the absence of modern devices, a stream of steam from an ordinary kettle).
If you fail, don't be upset. Dried lavash is an excellent base for cold appetizers and some hot dishes.
How to extend the shelf life
In rare cases, housewives need to keep pita bread fresh for a long time. In this case, the freezer will help. At a temperature of -18 °C the product can be stored for up to 90 days.
- Bread that you plan to store for a long time should be wrapped tightly in cling film or parchment and placed in the freezer.
- It’s better to put the tortillas at the bottom of a box in the freezer, so they won’t get wrinkled or break.
- Don't forget to move the pita bread to another cold place when you plan to defrost the refrigerator.
When you need the pita bread, you need to defrost it directly in the film in the microwave. Ten seconds are enough to give the product freshness and softness.
There is a type of flour product based on yeast. This type of bread is higher in calories and has a shorter shelf life than traditional bread.
Step-by-step stages of freezing thin Armenian lavash, recipe with photo:
1. Before you start freezing, you should choose the right pita bread. They should be fresh, soft, flexible and light in color. There should be no mold or stains on it, and there should be no droplets of moisture in the packaging. So, carefully separate each pita bread from each other so as not to tear it.
2. Stack several pita breads on top of each other with parchment paper between them. I advise you to take no more than 3-5 pieces of pita bread. 3. Roll the pita bread into a roll. Do not press the sheets too tightly to avoid damage. 4. Cut the required piece of cling film to the size of the lavash roll. 5. Place the tortilla roll on top of the bag. 6. Carefully wrap the pita bread in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer. Keep in mind that frozen pita bread is very fragile and may break if handled incorrectly.
When it is time to defrost the pita bread, remove it from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator to slowly thaw. Then it will retain all the benefits and softness. After complete defrosting, remove the plastic wrap and the pita bread will be as fresh as fresh. It can be used for all recipes as soon as purchased.
Pita
– a traditional dish of Armenian and Turkish cuisine. This is unleavened bread in the form of a thin flatbread, popular today in many countries. It is not only used traditionally as bread, it is used to make snack rolls and bake pies. One of the advantages of lavash is that it can be stored for up to a year. You just need to know a few rules.
Choose your recipe
If the pita bread is stale
The product from the bakery is initially soft and elastic, but as it cools and over time it begins to slightly harden and dry out. Thanks to this, it can be stored for 3 days.
But it happens that you initially bought stale or dry lavash, or it dried out due to improper storage. This means that the elasticity of thin wheat sheets must be restored, otherwise it will not be possible to make rolls or shawarma from them.
There are several ways to soften dried pita bread:
- Sprinkle with drinking water and leave for 10 minutes under a kitchen towel;
- Place the sheets on a damp towel for half an hour. It is important that with this method the product does not absorb foreign odors;
- steam heating. This method is suitable even for stale cakes. By holding them over a boiling kettle, in the microwave or in a water bath, you can achieve the required elasticity of the sheets by filling them with moisture.
Don’t be upset if you still can’t soften the dried pita bread. Sliced into thin strips, it can be used as a snack or crackers when serving hot dishes and salads.
What to look for when purchasing
In store-bought packaging, pita bread stays fresh for 2-3 days, so you need to look at the date of its manufacture. The fact is that during production, tortillas are packaged while still hot, so that they remain soft and elastic, and the moisture does not have time to evaporate.
To increase the shelf life of the finished product, special food additives are used, which are placed in bags with lavash. This is provided for by the technical specifications. These additives are effective only until the package is opened and the cakes are removed from it.
Without preservatives, you cannot store pita bread in a plastic bag. In bags, it quickly becomes moldy, like any type of bread. Therefore, when buying in a store, it is important to also pay attention to the packaging - it should not be completely sealed.
Correct pita bread from the store:
- matte, with a smooth surface without breaks;
- elastic and resilient. It does not stretch or crumble;
- No alcohol or vinegar smell. They can be added to the dough or sprinkled on the finished product.
The bread is very thin, takes up little space and takes the desired shape perfectly. A lavash cake weighs no more than a quarter of a kilogram
