So last week I saw people talking about Afghanistan’s bread problems online. Flour shortages, power cuts messing with ovens, crazy stuff. Made me wanna test baking bread with their kinda problems in mind. Here’s how my weird kitchen experiment went down.
The Disaster Start
First, tried making dough using just local supermarket flour, nothing fancy. Measured like usual: 3 cups flour, warm water, salt, tiny sugar spoon for feeding the yeast. Yeast packet smelled… not alive? Probably old. Dumped it in anyway. Mixed until sticky. Covered bowl with wet towel. Waited.
Two hours later. Dough? Flat. Dead. Punched it – no air pockets. Felt like playdough. Great. First problem hit: unreliable yeast.
Afghan Fix Attempt #1
Saw something online about Afghan bakers using sourdough starters when yeast fails. Dug out my neglected sourdough jar from fridge. Grey liquid on top smelled like old gym socks. Poured that junk out. Stirred the sludge underneath. Looked pasty. Fed it flour and warm water. Left it near radiator. Said little prayer.
- Next morning: starter bubbling like weak soda! Slightly sour smell.
- Okay. Progress.
Power Cut Simulation Mess
Dough time again. Starter instead of yeast. Mixed it stiff – Afghan naan style needs less water anyway. Kneaded for ages. Elbow grease only, no mixer. Hurt my wrist. Tired already. Shaped into blobs. Covered. Put bowl in turned-off oven with light on for warmth. Fake “stable temperature.”
Reality check: Forgot I needed oven space later. Preheated oven for dinner without thinking. Killed my little dough colony inside instantly. Bread dough turned into sad, warm brick.
Swore loudly. Started over. Third time lucky? Mixed another batch. This time I left the bowl on counter. Room temp proving. Took forever. Kids next door slammed door. Dough visibly shuddered.
The Baking Chaos
Preheated my stupid temperamental oven. Set to 450°F. Ripped off a dough ball. Slapped it onto scorching baking sheet. Burned fingertips. Nice. Oven thermometer? Showed only 400°F tops. Lies!
Sprinkled water for steam. Forgot spray bottle. Used wet hand. Splash zone disaster. Droplets hit hot oven floor. Loud hissing smoke erupted. Fire alarm screamed. Stood waving towel at it like maniac.
Three minutes later: Looked inside. One naan ballooned beautifully! Others looked deflated, sad. Rotated tray fast. Corner bread slipped. Folded onto heating coil. Burnt bread smell filled apartment. Perfect.
Surprisingly Edible Results
After smoke cleared… pulled out survivors. Most looked… okay? Crust crackled when tapped. Slightly charred bottoms but actually edible. Fluffy-ish inside? Used store bought yogurt as dip. Salt sprinkled on top.
Taste test verdict: Not bakery quality obviously. But way better than my first dead dough attempt. Chewy inside. Tore pieces off happily. Afghan fixes kinda worked:
- Starter backup when yeast died saved it
- Room temp proving needs patience (so much waiting ugh)
- High heat fast bake even in bad oven
Final thoughts? Makes you respect those Afghan bakers triple. No fancy gear. Power flickering. Short supplies. Yet feed people daily bread. Humbling kitchen disaster mission for sure. Will try sourdough version again next weekend. Without burning it this time. Maybe.
