A Lavosh Melt made with Armenian cracker bread and topped with various veggies and Havarti cheese, makes an inviting appearance on a table at Acacia restaurant.

james s. wood / arizona daily star

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Tis the season when the breads don't rise. During Passover celebrations this week, Jews around the world will be eating unleavened breads, to celebrate the haste with which their ancestors left captivity in Egypt — so hastily, according to Exodus, that God ordered them to eat the first Passover meal dressed and ready for travel.

Since Christians believe that Jesus established the sacrament of Holy Communion at a Passover feast, unleavened breads will figure in many churches' celebrations of Maundy Thursday and Easter.

But flatbreads arguably deserve a wider, year-round role on the Arizona table.

"Flatbreads are easy to make, they don't take a lot of time, you can make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator," said Albert Hall, owner-executive chef of Acacia at St. Philip's Plaza at 4340 N. Campbell Ave. "The ease of preparation and lightness of it are perfect for spring and summer. Plus, you can do whatever you want with it."

Whether you call them lavash, pita, naan, injera or something else, flatbreads are ancient and endemic to a broad swath of the world stretching from North Africa to Malaysia — any place where fuel is expensive and no one wants to spend a lot of time cuddled up to a hot stove.

Sort of like Arizona in the spring and summer.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, lists 37 different flatbreads, most from this pita belt — and that list is less than comprehensive.

In Ethiopia, the pancakelike injera forms a combination bowl and scoop for traditional stews, or wat. Armenians serve lavash — also known as cracker bread and spelled a half-dozen different ways in English — at most meals. Diners can fill their own with burritolike combinations of tangy feta or yogurt cheese, mint, tomato wedges and cucumber.

You can find most of these breads at the appropriate ethnic restaurants. A more unusual choice, at least for most Americans, is the appetizer of roti canai served at the Malaysian Neo of Melaka at 1765 E. River Road. A staple on Malaysian tables, it's a soft, many-layered flatbread that Neo serves with a curry dipping sauce.

Flatbreads generally are conveniently cooked for brief periods at very high temperatures. Many keep well — in Armenia, women bake a large batch of the breads one day, then soften the breads with water before putting them on the table during the rest of the week.

Religious scruples aside, flatbreads don't have to be unleavened. The name refers to the shape of the breads — flat, not thick like most European breads.

In fact, many "flat" breads contain yeast. Leavening is an absolute necessity for such goodies as pita.

Zona 78, a gourmet pizza and pasta eatery at 78 W. River Road, bakes its own flatbread and pitas daily from a sturdy dough that includes semolina and all-purpose flour.

For the flatbread, sous-chef Brady Cohen rolls the dough into the shape of a pizza, tops it with a little olive oil and Italian seasoning, then puts it into the cooler front section of the Zona pizza oven.

"You really don't want to cook it all the way through," Cohen explains. "It's a little gummier, a little doughier, so it has a little more complexity when it reaches you."

Diners at Zona 78 use the bread to scoop mouthfuls of a soft cilantro-laced hummus.

Acacia's Hall sometimes makes a similar bread from a potato yeast dough. "We roll it thin, brush it with olive oil, then grill it," Hall said. "It actually puffs up and makes like a pizza. It's very light. It's not a crispy, crusted flatbread. It's great to fold over and eat or roll like a wrap. Those are fun."

Hall has filled these breads with carne asada and cheese, put them under the broiler to melt the cheese, then folded and topped them with pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. You could use grilled vegetables and mozzarella, or any other combination that appeals to you.

A soft flatbread filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese, then rolled and sliced, makes elegant but easy finger food.

To make pitas, Cohen again rolls the dough into the shape of a pizza — but there's no tossing. Instead, he slides the disks into the hottest part of the oven, where the pitas obligingly swell up like helium balloons.

At lunch, Cohen splits each pita and opens half into a bowl, then fills each bowl with a mixture of chopped Caesar salad and chicken. The pita provides a tidy container, plus it soaks up some of the dressing, making for a flavorful accompaniment pita eaters can tear off and eat as they work their way through the salad. If you've only ever eaten sometimes-stale grocery store pitas, the taste of a freshly baked one is a revelation.

The Acacia Anytime bar menu at Hall's restaurant offers a Lahvosh Melt — sort of a sauce-less pizza with a huge, 18-inch cracker-bread crust. Hall buys the bread from Valley Lahvosh Baking Company, an 85-year-old Fresno, Calif., bakery that specializes in the Armenian bread, then tops it with assorted veggies and Havarti cheese. A quick trip into the oven to melt the cheese, and diners have a dramatic, fun appetizer or light meal.

"The thing that's so beautiful about the lavash we serve is, it's so light. It's almost a situation where less is more," Hall said. "It's just so summer."

Unleavened Bread

u 2 cups warm water

u 1 teaspoon salt

u 2 tablespoons olive or sesame oil

u 1 teaspoon caraway seeds

u 6-8 cups whole wheat flour

In a large bowl, mix together the water, salt and olive or sesame oil. With a wooden spoon slowly stir in about 2 1/2 cups of flour and the caraway seeds, mixing and beating for about 5 minutes. Mix in additional flour, until the mixture is too thick to stir.

Flour a board or kneading area. Transfer the dough and any remnants left in the bowl, to the board. Knead the dough, adding additional flour as necessary, until it is smooth and the consistency of your ear lobe (yes!).

Unyeasted dough requires a good deal of patient kneading, about 15-20 minutes to start. Work in a rhythm, turning the dough clockwise to assure uniform kneading. Altogether, you should have about 250-300 kneads. Oil hands, and form the dough into a ball. Oil the dough, and place in a large bowl. Cover with a cloth and a cover, and place away from drafts for 30-36 hours, or until the dough has puffed and risen. Allow longer time if no fermentation seems to be taking place.

Remove risen dough from the bowl, knead lightly and form into ping-pong-size balls. Place the balls in a large, well-greased round baking pan, snuggling them up, one against the other. Do not cram — use an additional pan, or form an additional small loaf if necessary. Allow space for rising.

Cover round bread loaf with a wet cloth and set in a warm place for 3-6 hours or until the dough rises about half again. Brush with milk or oil.

Place the bread in a cold oven, and heat to 300 degrees. Bake bread about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on both top and bottom. Serve warm and thinly sliced, or let your guests tear off the rolls as individual servings.