Barbari or barberi means our fathers ‘of or
related to the Barbars in Persian language. The Barbars live in the Khorasan
region, near the eastern border of Iran. The word Barbar means uncivilized,
foreign, barbarian) . The Barbars hated being referred by such a name and Reza
Shah granted them the name Khavari (Easterners).
However, the name of the bread
remains. It’s a very popular bread baked in Iran. It’s made in traditional
brick ovens. The bakers make it about 70-80cm long and 30-45 cm wide. It’s
usually served with tea and a soft cheese called lighvan cheese which is made
from ewe’s milk. It’s also served with typical Iranian jams (Moraba).
Modern
times means it can be served with feta cheese, olives, dips, gravies, curries and
whatever you fancy. The bread is golden brown because of the spread or roomal
that is smeared on it before baking. Barbari bread is slightly thicker than
most flatbreads that we know of.
Baking this bread in
convectional ovens gives a different texture from those baked in the
traditional ovens. If you have a pizza stone use it to bake this bread.We Knead to Bake - Bread #40 (Aparna Balasubramanian's Event)
Recipe and Info - Courtesy Mayuri Patel
Recipe Source - Heghineh.com and Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Ingredients:
For the dough:
All purpose flour (plain flour).... 3 cups
Warm water.... 1½ cups
Instant dry active yeast.... 1½ tsps.
Sea salt (or normal salt)... 1½ tsps
Sugar ........... 1½ tsp
Baking powder.... ½ tsp
For the roomal (spread):
Water.... ⅔ cup
All purpose flour (plain flour) ... 1 tsp
Baking soda (soda bicarbonate).. 1 tsp
For topping:
Nigella
seeds(kalonji) or sesame seeds
Some
semolina (sooji) to spread the dough
Some
oil for greasing
Extra
flour for kneading the dough
Preparation of the dough:
1.
Mix flour, yeast, salt, baking powder
and sugar in a big bowl.
2.
Add warm water and form a dough.
3.
Dust the worktop with some flour and
knead the dough for 10-15 minutes or till it is smooth and elastic. This bread
requires a good gluten formation so make sure you knead it well. Or
alternatively knead the dough in a dough machine.
4.
Form the dough into a ball shape and
place it in the greased bowl. Cover with a wet tea towel or a cling film.
Place it in a warm place to allow
the dough to rise till its double the size. This will take about 1½ hours.
In the meantime prepare the roomal or
spread:
1.
Put the flour, water and baking soda in
a pan.
2.
Mix well.
3.
Put the pan over medium heat and bring
the mixture to a boil.
4.
Let it boil for 2-3 minutes.
5.
Let the roomal cool down before using
it.
Preparation of Barbari Bread:
1. Knead the dough gently and divide it into 4 parts.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or grease it with oil.
3. Sprinkle some semolina on the worktop.
4. Take one piece of the dough and using the roomal, spread it into an
approximately 9”X 4” oblong shape.
5. Using the roomal, make grooves/lines lengthwise about 1-2”apart on the
flattened bread.
1. Place it on the baking tray.
2. Repeat steps 3 -6 with the remaining dough.
3. Spread the remaining roomal on the bread pieces.
4. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds or nigella seeds or a mixture of both.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Place the
trays in the oven and bake the bread for 20-25 minutes or till it’s golden
brown.
7. If you place both the trays in the oven at the
same time, remember to switch their positions half way.
8. Remove the
baked barbari bread from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
9. Serve with
tea, your favourite dip, olive oil, feta cheese or any soft cheese. You can even serve with some Shahi Chicken / Mutton Curry
It has come out very well...thanx for sharing it
ReplyDeleteThanks Amrita
DeleteYummy and delicious :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Priya
DeleteI have never heard of this bread but it certainly looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt is very easy recipe Nayna.. do try it.
DeleteI had seen references to this delicious naan-e-barbari but never came across the recipe. Thanks to you I have one now. Definitely will try.
ReplyDeleteYou will really love it Archana.
DeleteGood to know about this Iranian Persian Barbari Bread Naan. It surely must be a wonderful naan to go with a curry entrée. The naan looks even more appealing with the roomal and seeds on top. Thank you for sharing.. Nice sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neha. It really tastes so good with non veg gravies.
DeleteBeautifully baked. Soft texture and crunchy top. Love making Naan - E- Barbari as it comes out so different from other flatbreads.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Mayuri. This looks and tastes better and different than other flat breads
Delete