diff --git a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Drivers/ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver.cs b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Drivers/ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver.cs
index 869bea6bdf0..dac5b29ebe9 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Drivers/ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver.cs
+++ b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Drivers/ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver.cs
@@ -1,75 +1,119 @@
 using System;
+using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Text.Json;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Localization;
+using Nest;
 using OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.Entities;
 using OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.Handlers;
 using OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.Views;
+using OrchardCore.Mvc.ModelBinding;
 using OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Models;
 using OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Services;
 using OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.ViewModels;
 using OrchardCore.Settings;
 
-namespace OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Drivers
+namespace OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Drivers;
+
+public class ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver : SectionDisplayDriver<ISite, ElasticSettings>
 {
-    public class ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver : SectionDisplayDriver<ISite, ElasticSettings>
+    public const string GroupId = "elasticsearch";
+
+    private static readonly char[] _separator = [',', ' '];
+    private static readonly JsonSerializerOptions _jsonSerializerOptions = new()
+    {
+        WriteIndented = true,
+    };
+    private readonly ElasticIndexSettingsService _elasticIndexSettingsService;
+    private readonly IHttpContextAccessor _httpContextAccessor;
+    private readonly IAuthorizationService _authorizationService;
+    private readonly IElasticClient _elasticClient;
+    protected readonly IStringLocalizer S;
+
+    public ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver(
+        ElasticIndexSettingsService elasticIndexSettingsService,
+        IHttpContextAccessor httpContextAccessor,
+        IAuthorizationService authorizationService,
+        IElasticClient elasticClient,
+        IStringLocalizer<ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver> stringLocalizer
+        )
     {
-        public const string GroupId = "elasticsearch";
-        private readonly ElasticIndexSettingsService _elasticIndexSettingsService;
-        private readonly IHttpContextAccessor _httpContextAccessor;
-        private readonly IAuthorizationService _authorizationService;
+        _elasticIndexSettingsService = elasticIndexSettingsService;
+        _httpContextAccessor = httpContextAccessor;
+        _authorizationService = authorizationService;
+        _elasticClient = elasticClient;
+        S = stringLocalizer;
+    }
 
-        public ElasticSettingsDisplayDriver(
-            ElasticIndexSettingsService elasticIndexSettingsService,
-            IHttpContextAccessor httpContextAccessor,
-            IAuthorizationService authorizationService
-            )
+    public override IDisplayResult Edit(ElasticSettings settings)
+        => Initialize<ElasticSettingsViewModel>("ElasticSettings_Edit", async model =>
         {
-            _elasticIndexSettingsService = elasticIndexSettingsService;
-            _httpContextAccessor = httpContextAccessor;
-            _authorizationService = authorizationService;
+            model.SearchIndex = settings.SearchIndex;
+            model.SearchFields = string.Join(", ", settings.DefaultSearchFields ?? []);
+            model.SearchIndexes = (await _elasticIndexSettingsService.GetSettingsAsync()).Select(x => x.IndexName);
+            model.DefaultQuery = settings.DefaultQuery;
+            model.SearchType = settings.GetSearchType();
+            model.SearchTypes = [
+                new(S["Multi-Match Query (Default)"], string.Empty),
+                new(S["Query String Query"], ElasticSettings.QueryStringSearchType),
+                new(S["Custom Query"], ElasticSettings.CustomSearchType),
+            ];
+        }).Location("Content:2")
+        .RenderWhen(() => _authorizationService.AuthorizeAsync(_httpContextAccessor.HttpContext.User, Permissions.ManageElasticIndexes))
+        .OnGroup(GroupId);
+
+    public override async Task<IDisplayResult> UpdateAsync(ElasticSettings section, BuildEditorContext context)
+    {
+        if (!string.Equals(GroupId, context.GroupId, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            return null;
         }
 
-        public override async Task<IDisplayResult> EditAsync(ElasticSettings settings, BuildEditorContext context)
+        if (!await _authorizationService.AuthorizeAsync(_httpContextAccessor.HttpContext?.User, Permissions.ManageElasticIndexes))
         {
-            var user = _httpContextAccessor.HttpContext?.User;
+            return null;
+        }
 
-            if (!await _authorizationService.AuthorizeAsync(user, Permissions.ManageElasticIndexes))
-            {
-                return null;
-            }
+        var model = new ElasticSettingsViewModel();
 
-            return Initialize<ElasticSettingsViewModel>("ElasticSettings_Edit", async model =>
-                {
-                    model.SearchIndex = settings.SearchIndex;
-                    model.SearchFields = string.Join(", ", settings.DefaultSearchFields ?? Array.Empty<string>());
-                    model.SearchIndexes = (await _elasticIndexSettingsService.GetSettingsAsync()).Select(x => x.IndexName);
-                    model.AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch = settings.AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch;
-                }).Location("Content:2").OnGroup(GroupId);
-        }
+        await context.Updater.TryUpdateModelAsync(model, Prefix);
 
-        public override async Task<IDisplayResult> UpdateAsync(ElasticSettings section, BuildEditorContext context)
-        {
-            var user = _httpContextAccessor.HttpContext?.User;
+        section.DefaultQuery = null;
+        section.SearchIndex = model.SearchIndex;
+        section.DefaultSearchFields = model.SearchFields?.Split(_separator, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
+        section.SearchType = model.SearchType ?? string.Empty;
 
-            if (!await _authorizationService.AuthorizeAsync(user, Permissions.ManageElasticIndexes))
+        if (model.SearchType == ElasticSettings.CustomSearchType)
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(model.DefaultQuery))
             {
-                return null;
+                context.Updater.ModelState.AddModelError(Prefix, nameof(model.DefaultQuery), S["Please provide the default query."]);
             }
-
-            if (context.GroupId.Equals(GroupId, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (!JsonHelpers.TryParse(model.DefaultQuery, out var document))
             {
-                var model = new ElasticSettingsViewModel();
+                context.Updater.ModelState.AddModelError(Prefix, nameof(model.DefaultQuery), S["The provided query is not formatted correctly."]);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                section.DefaultQuery = JsonSerializer.Serialize(document, _jsonSerializerOptions);
 
-                await context.Updater.TryUpdateModelAsync(model, Prefix);
+                try
+                {
+                    using var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(model.DefaultQuery));
 
-                section.SearchIndex = model.SearchIndex;
-                section.DefaultSearchFields = model.SearchFields?.Split(new[] { ',', ' ' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
-                section.AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch = model.AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch;
+                    var searchRequest = await _elasticClient.RequestResponseSerializer.DeserializeAsync<SearchRequest>(stream);
+                }
+                catch
+                {
+                    context.Updater.ModelState.AddModelError(Prefix, nameof(model.DefaultQuery), S["Invalid query provided."]);
+                }
             }
-
-            return await EditAsync(section, context);
         }
+
+        return await EditAsync(section, context);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Services/ElasticSearchService.cs b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Services/ElasticSearchService.cs
index 32a03be3032..403281a17fe 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Services/ElasticSearchService.cs
+++ b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Services/ElasticSearchService.cs
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
 using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Text.Encodings.Web;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Fluid.Values;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Nest;
-using OrchardCore.Entities;
+using OrchardCore.Liquid;
 using OrchardCore.Search.Abstractions;
 using OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Models;
 using OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Services;
@@ -16,6 +21,9 @@ public class ElasticsearchService : ISearchService
     private readonly ElasticIndexManager _elasticIndexManager;
     private readonly ElasticIndexSettingsService _elasticIndexSettingsService;
     private readonly IElasticSearchQueryService _elasticsearchQueryService;
+    private readonly IElasticClient _elasticClient;
+    private readonly JavaScriptEncoder _javaScriptEncoder;
+    private readonly ILiquidTemplateManager _liquidTemplateManager;
     private readonly ILogger _logger;
 
     public ElasticsearchService(
@@ -23,6 +31,9 @@ public ElasticsearchService(
         ElasticIndexManager elasticIndexManager,
         ElasticIndexSettingsService elasticIndexSettingsService,
         IElasticSearchQueryService elasticsearchQueryService,
+        IElasticClient elasticClient,
+        JavaScriptEncoder javaScriptEncoder,
+        ILiquidTemplateManager liquidTemplateManager,
         ILogger<ElasticsearchService> logger
         )
     {
@@ -30,6 +41,9 @@ ILogger<ElasticsearchService> logger
         _elasticIndexManager = elasticIndexManager;
         _elasticIndexSettingsService = elasticIndexSettingsService;
         _elasticsearchQueryService = elasticsearchQueryService;
+        _elasticClient = elasticClient;
+        _javaScriptEncoder = javaScriptEncoder;
+        _liquidTemplateManager = liquidTemplateManager;
         _logger = logger;
     }
 
@@ -63,20 +77,30 @@ public async Task<SearchResult> SearchAsync(string indexName, string term, int s
 
         try
         {
+            var searchType = searchSettings.GetSearchType();
             QueryContainer query = null;
 
-            if (searchSettings.AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch)
+            if (searchType == ElasticSettings.CustomSearchType && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(searchSettings.DefaultQuery))
             {
-                query = new QueryStringQuery
+                var tokenizedContent = await _liquidTemplateManager.RenderStringAsync(searchSettings.DefaultQuery, _javaScriptEncoder,
+                    new Dictionary<string, FluidValue>()
+                    {
+                        ["term"] = new StringValue(term)
+                    });
+
+                try
                 {
-                    Fields = searchSettings.DefaultSearchFields,
-                    Analyzer = await _elasticIndexSettingsService.GetQueryAnalyzerAsync(index),
-                    Query = term
-                };
+                    using var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(tokenizedContent));
+
+                    var searchRequest = await _elasticClient.RequestResponseSerializer.DeserializeAsync<SearchRequest>(stream);
+
+                    query = searchRequest.Query;
+                }
+                catch { }
             }
-            else
+            else if (searchType == ElasticSettings.QueryStringSearchType)
             {
-                query = new MultiMatchQuery
+                query = new QueryStringQuery
                 {
                     Fields = searchSettings.DefaultSearchFields,
                     Analyzer = await _elasticIndexSettingsService.GetQueryAnalyzerAsync(index),
@@ -84,6 +108,13 @@ public async Task<SearchResult> SearchAsync(string indexName, string term, int s
                 };
             }
 
+            query ??= new MultiMatchQuery
+            {
+                Fields = searchSettings.DefaultSearchFields,
+                Analyzer = await _elasticIndexSettingsService.GetQueryAnalyzerAsync(index),
+                Query = term
+            };
+
             result.ContentItemIds = await _elasticsearchQueryService.ExecuteQueryAsync(index, query, null, start, pageSize);
             result.Success = true;
         }
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/ViewModels/ElasticSettingsViewModel.cs b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/ViewModels/ElasticSettingsViewModel.cs
index 5e6383c8951..c06bc3f4ff1 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/ViewModels/ElasticSettingsViewModel.cs
+++ b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/ViewModels/ElasticSettingsViewModel.cs
@@ -1,13 +1,24 @@
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ModelBinding;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Rendering;
 
 namespace OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.ViewModels
 {
     public class ElasticSettingsViewModel
     {
         public string Analyzer { get; set; }
+
         public string SearchIndex { get; set; }
+
         public IEnumerable<string> SearchIndexes { get; set; }
+
         public string SearchFields { get; set; }
-        public bool AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch { get; set; }
+
+        public string DefaultQuery { get; set; }
+
+        public string SearchType { get; set; }
+
+        [BindNever]
+        public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> SearchTypes { get; set; }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Views/ElasticSettings.Edit.cshtml b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Views/ElasticSettings.Edit.cshtml
index 7dc6c6c7974..85e1e6801bf 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Views/ElasticSettings.Edit.cshtml
+++ b/src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch/Views/ElasticSettings.Edit.cshtml
@@ -1,35 +1,63 @@
+@using OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Models
+
 @model ElasticSettingsViewModel
 
-@if (Model.SearchIndexes.Any())
-{
-    <div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="SearchIndex">
-        <label asp-for="SearchIndex" class="form-label">@T["Default search index"]</label>
-        <select asp-for="SearchIndex" class="form-select">
-            @foreach (var index in Model.SearchIndexes)
-            {
-                <option value="@index" selected="@(Model.SearchIndex == index)">@index</option>
-            }
-        </select>
-        <span asp-validation-for="SearchIndex"></span>
-        <span class="hint">@T["The default index to use for the search page."]</span>
-    </div>
-}
-else
+@if (!Model.SearchIndexes.Any())
 {
     <div class="alert alert-warning">@T["You need to create at least an index to set as the Search index."]</div>
+
+    return;
 }
 
-<div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="SearchFields">
+<div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="SearchIndex">
+    <label asp-for="SearchIndex" class="form-label">@T["Default search index"]</label>
+    <select asp-for="SearchIndex" class="form-select">
+        @foreach (var index in Model.SearchIndexes)
+        {
+            <option value="@index" selected="@(Model.SearchIndex == index)">@index</option>
+        }
+    </select>
+    <span asp-validation-for="SearchIndex"></span>
+    <span class="hint">@T["The default index to use for the search page."]</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="SearchType">
+    <label asp-for="SearchType" class="form-label">@T["Default search type"]</label>
+    <select asp-for="SearchType" class="form-select" asp-items="Model.SearchTypes" data-raw-type="@ElasticSettings.CustomSearchType"></select>
+    <span asp-validation-for="SearchType"></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="DefaultQuery" id="DefaultQueryContainer">
+    <label asp-for="DefaultQuery" class="form-label">@T["Default query"]</label>
+    <textarea asp-for="DefaultQuery" class="form-control" rows="10"></textarea>
+    <span asp-validation-for="DefaultQuery"></span>
+    <span class="hint">@T["Create a custom Elasticsearch query to be utilized for each search request. Liquid is supported, so use <code>{0}</code> template as a substitute for the user-provided search term.", "{{ term }}"]</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="SearchFields" id="DefaultQueryFields">
     <label asp-for="SearchFields" class="form-label">@T["Default searched fields"]</label>
     <input asp-for="SearchFields" class="form-control" />
     <span asp-validation-for="SearchFields"></span>
     <span class="hint">@T["A comma separated list of fields to use for search pages. The default value is <code>Content.ContentItem.FullText</code>."]</span>
 </div>
 
-<div class="mb-3" asp-validation-class-for="AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch">
-    <div class="form-check">
-        <input type="checkbox" class="form-check-input" asp-for="AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch" />
-        <label class="form-check-label" asp-for="AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch">@T["Allow Elasticsearch \"query string query\" in search forms"]</label>
-        <span class="hint dashed">@T["Whether search queries should be allowed to use <a href=\"https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/query-dsl-query-string-query.html#query-dsl-query-string-query\">Elasticsearch \"query string query\" syntax</a>."] <a class="seedoc" href="https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/query-dsl-query-string-query.html#query-dsl-query-string-query" target="_blank">@T["See documentation"]</a></span>
-    </div>
-</div>
+<script at="Foot">
+    document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function () {
+        const menu = document.getElementById('@Html.IdFor(m => m.SearchType)');
+        const queryContainer = document.getElementById('DefaultQueryContainer');
+        const fieldsContainer = document.getElementById('DefaultQueryFields');
+
+        menu.addEventListener('change', function (e) {
+
+            if (e.target.value == e.target.getAttribute('data-raw-type')) {
+                queryContainer.classList.remove('d-none');
+                fieldsContainer.classList.add('d-none');
+            } else {
+                queryContainer.classList.add('d-none');
+                fieldsContainer.classList.remove('d-none');
+            }
+        });
+
+        menu.dispatchEvent(new Event('change'));
+    });
+</script>
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore.Themes/TheBlogTheme/Recipes/blog.elastic.search.recipe.json b/src/OrchardCore.Themes/TheBlogTheme/Recipes/blog.elastic.search.recipe.json
index b80d5883180..b7957a0bed5 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore.Themes/TheBlogTheme/Recipes/blog.elastic.search.recipe.json
+++ b/src/OrchardCore.Themes/TheBlogTheme/Recipes/blog.elastic.search.recipe.json
@@ -59,8 +59,9 @@
         "DefaultSearchFields": [
           "Content.ContentItem.FullText"
         ],
-        "AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch": false,
-        "SyncWithLucene":  true
+        "SearchType": "",
+        "DefaultQuery": null,
+        "SyncWithLucene": true
       }
     },
     {
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Abstractions/JsonHelpers.cs b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Abstractions/JsonHelpers.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..371b1778ad3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Abstractions/JsonHelpers.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+using System.Text.Json;
+
+namespace OrchardCore;
+
+public class JsonHelpers
+{
+    public static bool IsValid(string json, JsonDocumentOptions options = default)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            JsonDocument.Parse(json, options);
+
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch { }
+
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    public static bool TryParse(string json, out JsonDocument document, JsonDocumentOptions options = default)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            document = JsonDocument.Parse(json, options);
+
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch { }
+
+        document = null;
+        return false;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Models/ElasticSettings.cs b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Models/ElasticSettings.cs
index acd5500dd1f..7fce5c796a0 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Models/ElasticSettings.cs
+++ b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Models/ElasticSettings.cs
@@ -1,19 +1,39 @@
 using System;
 using OrchardCore.Contents.Indexing;
 
-namespace OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Models
+namespace OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core.Models;
+
+public class ElasticSettings
 {
-    public class ElasticSettings
-    {
-        public static readonly string[] FullTextField = new string[] { IndexingConstants.FullTextKey };
+    public const string CustomSearchType = "custom";
+
+    public const string QueryStringSearchType = "query_string";
+
+    public static readonly string[] FullTextField = [IndexingConstants.FullTextKey];
+
+    public string SearchIndex { get; set; }
 
-        [Obsolete("This property will be removed in future releases.")]
-        public const string StandardAnalyzer = "standardanalyzer";
+    public string DefaultQuery { get; set; }
 
-        public string SearchIndex { get; set; }
+    public string[] DefaultSearchFields { get; set; } = FullTextField;
 
-        public string[] DefaultSearchFields { get; set; } = FullTextField;
+    public string SearchType { get; set; }
+
+    [Obsolete("This property will be removed in future releases.")]
+    public const string StandardAnalyzer = "standardanalyzer";
+
+    [Obsolete($"This property will be removed in future releases. Instead use {nameof(SearchType)} property.")]
+    public bool AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch { get; set; } = false;
+
+    public string GetSearchType()
+    {
+#pragma warning disable CS0618 // Type or member is obsolete
+        if (SearchType == null && AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch)
+        {
+            return QueryStringSearchType;
+        }
+#pragma warning restore CS0618 // Type or member is obsolete
 
-        public bool AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch { get; set; } = false;
+        return SearchType;
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticIndexManager.cs b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticIndexManager.cs
index d14732d9295..881717f898d 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticIndexManager.cs
+++ b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticIndexManager.cs
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ public async Task<bool> CreateIndexAsync(ElasticIndexSettings elasticIndexSettin
             var indexSettingsDescriptor = new IndexSettingsDescriptor();
 
             // The name "standardanalyzer" is a legacy used prior OC 1.6 release. It can be removed in future releases.
-            var analyzerName = elasticIndexSettings.AnalyzerName == "standardanalyzer" ? "standard" : elasticIndexSettings.AnalyzerName;
+            var analyzerName = (elasticIndexSettings.AnalyzerName == "standardanalyzer" ? null : elasticIndexSettings.AnalyzerName) ?? "standard";
 
             if (_elasticsearchOptions.Analyzers.TryGetValue(analyzerName, out var analyzerProperties))
             {
diff --git a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticQueryService.cs b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticQueryService.cs
index ea3817561a7..12243eee9e9 100644
--- a/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticQueryService.cs
+++ b/src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.Search.Elasticsearch.Core/Services/ElasticQueryService.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Text;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
@@ -38,7 +37,8 @@ public async Task<ElasticTopDocs> SearchAsync(string indexName, string query)
 
             try
             {
-                var deserializedSearchRequest = _elasticClient.RequestResponseSerializer.Deserialize<SearchRequest>(new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(query)));
+                using var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(query));
+                var deserializedSearchRequest = _elasticClient.RequestResponseSerializer.Deserialize<SearchRequest>(stream);
 
                 var searchRequest = new SearchRequest(_indexPrefix + indexName)
                 {
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ public async Task<ElasticTopDocs> SearchAsync(string indexName, string query)
                     Size = deserializedSearchRequest.Size,
                     Fields = deserializedSearchRequest.Fields,
                     Sort = deserializedSearchRequest.Sort,
-                    Source = deserializedSearchRequest.Source
+                    Source = deserializedSearchRequest.Source,
                 };
 
                 var searchResponse = await _elasticClient.SearchAsync<Dictionary<string, object>>(searchRequest);
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ public async Task<ElasticTopDocs> SearchAsync(string indexName, string query)
                 if (searchResponse.IsValid)
                 {
                     elasticTopDocs.Count = searchResponse.Total;
-                    elasticTopDocs.TopDocs = searchResponse.Documents.ToList();
+                    elasticTopDocs.TopDocs = [.. searchResponse.Documents];
                     elasticTopDocs.Fields = hits;
                 }
                 else
diff --git a/src/docs/reference/modules/Elasticsearch/README.md b/src/docs/reference/modules/Elasticsearch/README.md
index 3807f793ab7..4f5ec84dedb 100644
--- a/src/docs/reference/modules/Elasticsearch/README.md
+++ b/src/docs/reference/modules/Elasticsearch/README.md
@@ -90,7 +90,8 @@ Here is an example for setting default search settings:
         "DefaultSearchFields":[
           "Content.ContentItem.FullText"
         ],
-        "AllowElasticQueryStringQueryInSearch":false,
+        "SearchType": "", // Use 'custom' for a custom query in DefaultQuery and 'query_string' for a Query String Query search. Leave it blank for the default, which is a Multi-Match Query search.
+        "DefaultQuery": null,
         "SyncWithLucene":true // Allows to sync content index settings.
       }
     }
@@ -169,11 +170,14 @@ Here is an example for creating a Elasticsearch query from a Queries recipe step
 
 ```json
 {
-  "Source": "Elasticsearch",
-  "Name": "RecentBlogPosts",
-  "Index": "Search",
-  "Template": "...", // json encoded query template
-  "ReturnContentItems": true
+  "steps":[
+    {
+        "Source": "Elasticsearch",
+        "Name": "RecentBlogPosts",
+        "Index": "Search",
+        "Template": "...", // json encoded query template
+        "ReturnContentItems": true
+    }
 }
 ```
 
diff --git a/src/docs/releases/1.8.0.md b/src/docs/releases/1.8.0.md
index 86cd0443b10..e102f4d75e6 100644
--- a/src/docs/releases/1.8.0.md
+++ b/src/docs/releases/1.8.0.md
@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@ Additionally, if you've customized the `Error.cshtml` view, it should be renamed
 
 The following interfaces have been updated to incorporate new asynchronous methods, corresponding to each synchronous method. All synchronous methods have been deprecated and should no longer be utilized.
 
-- IStereotypeService
-- IStereotypesProvider
-- IRouteableContentTypeProvider
-- IRouteableContentTypeCoordinator
-- IContentDefinitionService
-- IContentDefinitionManager
-- IContentDefinitionService
+- `IStereotypeService`
+- `IStereotypesProvider`
+- `IRouteableContentTypeProvider`
+- `IRouteableContentTypeCoordinator`
+- `IContentDefinitionService`
+- `IContentDefinitionManager`
+- `IContentDefinitionService`
 
 ## Change Logs
 
@@ -104,3 +104,23 @@ To add the `Navbar` shape into your own back-end theme, add the following code i
 
 @await DisplayAsync(await DisplayManager.BuildDisplayAsync<Navbar>(UpdateModelAccessor.ModelUpdater, "DetailAdmin"))
 ```
+
+### Elasticsearch Module
+
+Introduced a new option in `ElasticSettings` that permits the definition of a custom query for the default search. For instance, the following is an example of a search query supporting the [fuzziness](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/7.17/common-options.html#fuzziness) option:
+
+```
+{
+  "query": {
+    "match": {
+      "Content.ContentItem.FullText": {
+        "query": "{{ term }}",
+        "fuzziness": "AUTO",
+        "analyzer": "whitespace"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+![elastic-search-ex](https://github.com/OrchardCMS/OrchardCore/assets/24724371/15aae13e-0fc0-4df6-98be-352a441618c0)