Editing Lavash (section)

==History==
Gil Marks traces the history of lavash to the early innovation of cooking thin flatbreads on terracotta griddles. The earliest forms of bread were cooked as cakes either on heated rocks or in embers, but when griddles started to be used breads had to be made thinner to fully cook through without burning like the bread ''rakik'' described in the [[Bible]]. With the innovation of early ovens, thicker loaves became possible.<ref name="Marks 2010 - Lavash"/>

According to ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'' lavash is "a thin unleavened flatbread of Armenian origin".<ref name="Lavash">{{cite web |title=Lavash |website=The American Heritage Dictionary |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=lavash&submit.x=0&submit.y=0}}</ref> In 2014, Lavash was described by the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] as "an expression of Armenian culture". This decision led to protests in [[Azerbaijan]], [[Iran]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], and [[Kazakhstan]] over claims that the food was "regional", not "Armenian".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lomsadze|first1=Giorgi|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan at Loggerheads Over Lavash|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71171|access-date=December 10, 2016|work=EurasiaNet|date=December 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=McKernan|first1=Bethan|title=A 'pizza war' has broken out between Turkey and Armenia|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/pizza-war-breaks-out-between-turkey-and-armenia-a7383471.html|access-date=10 December 2016|work=The Independent|date=27 October 2016}}</ref>

The origin of lavash is often attributed to [[Armenia]],<ref name="Sergio O. Serna-Saldivar 2012 217">{{cite book|author=Sergio O. Serna-Saldivar|title=Cereal Grains: Laboratory Reference and Procedures Manual.|publisher=CRC Press|year=2012|isbn=9781439855652|page=217|quote=Lavash is another popular flat cracker bread with ancient roots in Armenia.}}</ref><ref name="Albala">{{cite book|editor=Albala, Ken|title=Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia, Volume 1|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |location=[[Santa Barbara, California]]|isbn=9780313376269|page=5|quote=...on ''lavash'', a traditional flatbread of Armenia similar to tortilla...}}</ref><ref name="Goldstein 1999 https://archive.org/details/tasteofrussia00darr/page/185 185">{{cite book|last=Goldstein|first=Darra|title=A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality|year=1999|publisher=Russian Life Books|location=Montpelier, VT|isbn=9781880100424|page=[https://archive.org/details/tasteofrussia00darr/page/185 185]|edition=2nd|quote=Armenian Flat Bread Lavash: Lavash has been baked for centuries in Armenia.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/tasteofrussia00darr/page/185}}</ref><ref name="Khanam">{{cite book|last= Khanam|first=R.|title= Encycl. Ethnography Of Middle-East And Central Asia (3 Vols. Set)|year= 2005|publisher= Global Vision|location=New Delhi|isbn= 9788182200623|page= 55|edition= 1st|quote= The t'onir is a round hole dug in the ground, which can be used for baking Armenian flat bread (lavash) and for heating the home in winter.}}</ref> or [[Iran]].<ref name="Karizaki 8–14">{{Cite journal|last=Karizaki|first=Vahid Mohammadpour|date=2017-03-01|title=Ethnic and traditional Iranian breads: different types, and historical and cultural aspects|journal=Journal of Ethnic Foods|volume=4|issue=1|pages=8–14|doi=10.1016/j.jef.2017.01.002|issn=2352-6181|quote=The origin of lavash is most probably from Iran, according to the state of the encyclopedia of Jewish food.|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=marks>{{cite book |last=Marks |first=Gil|author-link=Gil Marks |date=2010 |title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT151 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |page=355 |isbn=978-0470391303}}</ref><ref name="Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony">{{cite book|last1=Reinhart|first1=Peter|title=The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread|date=2011|publisher=Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony|isbn=978-1607741299|page=178|quote="Lavash, though usually called Armenian flatbread, also has Iranian roots (...)"}}</ref> Food historian [[Gil Marks]] identifies the origin more generally as the Middle East.<ref name="Marks 2010 - Lavash"/>