What is a Laffa wrap?

Laffa, also known as lafa or Iraqi pita, is a large, thin flatbread in Israeli cuisine, of Iraqi origin. Laffa does not form a pocket like a Levantine pita; it is most often used to wrap sandwiches such as falafel and shawarma, to dip in hummus, matbucha and other dips, or with shakshouka, and other dishes.

What is Arab flatbread called?

Pita is a flatbread found in many Mediterranean, Balkan, and Middle Eastern cuisines. In Arab countries, pita bread is produced as a round flatbread, 18 cm (7 in) to 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. It is thin and puffs up as it bakes. It is also known as Arab(ic) bread, Lebanese bread, or Syrian bread.

What is a Syrian pocket?

Stuffed with ijeh (small egg patties or omelets), fried eggplant, or even tuna fish salad, the pocket that this bread forms when baking makes it perfect for sandwiches or scooping up all kinds of meats and dips. Fresh or toasted, you’ll enjoy this low-calorie bread found everywhere in the Middle East.

Why is Arabic bread flat?

Most pita are baked at high temperatures (450–475 °F (232–246 °C)), which turns the water in the dough into steam, thus causing the pita to puff up and form a pocket. When removed from the oven, the layers of baked dough remain separated inside the deflated pita, which allows the bread to be opened to form a pocket.

What kind of bread do Middle Easterners eat?

Pita Bread
Pita Bread in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Cuisine. Pita bread is a round piece of bread with a pocket created by puffs of steam during the baking process. This unique bread is widely consumed in the Middle East and the Mediterranean countries as well as Turkey, India and the Arabian Peninsula.

How is Middle Eastern bread made?

The traditional way of baking Middle Eastern bread is in highly heated brick ovens, with the loaves being slid into the ovens with wooden paddles. Of course, the making of Middle Eastern bread in the modern countries of the Middle East and in North America is an automated process, from the flour to the piping hot bread.

What is Syrian bread called in America?

Called Khubz Arabee among the Arabs in that part of the world and once called flatbread or Syrian bread in the United States — that is before Syria became the “bad boy” of the Middle East — it is now widely known as pita bread — a Greek name.

What is a lavash bread?

Lavash or lavash bread is a delicious unleavened flatbread traditionally baked in a tandoor, often used to make lavash wrap, or even lavash crackers.

Is pita bread Middle Eastern or Western?

Pita bread, like all types of Middle Eastern breads, is usually soft and pliable — perfect for the Arab way of eating. One of the greatest advantages of this type of bread means that you can take pita bread and dip it in olive oil, yogurt spreads, hummus, and tahini — no need for a knife or a spoon.