Okay, so today I finally got around to trying my hand at Nan-e Barbari. I’d been hearing about this bread, you know, the one with roots way back, supposedly from Iran, that Khorasan region area. Sounded interesting, looked good in pictures, so I thought, why not give it a shot.
Getting Started
First thing, gathered the stuff. Nothing too crazy:
- Flour, just the regular all-purpose kind.
- Water, warmed it up a bit.
- Yeast, the active dry stuff.
- Salt.
- Tiny bit of sugar, just to help the yeast along.
Mixed the yeast with warm water and sugar first. Let it sit for like ten minutes until it got foamy. That’s how you know it’s alive, right? Then, dumped the flour and salt into a big bowl, made a well in the middle, and poured in the yeast mixture and a bit more water.
The Messy Part
Then came the mixing. Started with a spoon, but pretty quick just dove in with my hands. It was sticky. Really sticky. Added a bit more flour, little by little, until it started coming together into a shaggy dough. Kneading was next. Slapped it onto the counter (dusted with flour, obviously) and went at it for maybe 10, 15 minutes? Felt like a workout. Just kept folding, pushing, turning, until it got smoother and kinda elastic.
After the kneading marathon, I put the dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl, turned it over so the top was oiled too, covered it with a cloth, and stuck it somewhere warm to rise. The waiting game. Took about an hour, maybe a bit more, for it to get properly puffy, like double the size.
Shaping and Baking
Once it rose, I punched it down gently. Didn’t want to completely deflate it. Then, I tried shaping it into that long, kinda oval flatbread shape you see in pictures. This part was trickier than I thought. Getting it evenly thin but not too thin. Then, the signature grooves. Dipped my fingers in water and pressed long lines down the length of the dough. Looked okay-ish, not perfect, but hey, first try.
I also mixed up a quick ‘roomal’, basically just a thin paste of flour and water, and brushed it over the top. Heard this helps give it that classic finish. Dunno if I did it right, but I smeared it on.
Got the oven cranked up super hot with a baking stone inside. Carefully slid the shaped dough onto the hot stone. The smell started pretty quickly. That warm, bready smell filling the kitchen. Definitely a good sign. Baked it until it was golden brown and sounded a bit hollow when I tapped the bottom. Maybe 15-20 minutes?
The Result
Pulled it out, let it cool for a bit on a rack. It actually looked pretty decent! The grooves were there, color was nice. The crust was crispy, especially the edges, and the inside was soft and chewy. Tore off a piece while it was still warm. Yeah, it was good. Simple, but really satisfying.
Made me think about its journey, you know? This simple flatbread coming all the way from Iran, from Khorasan. Generations making this. Pretty cool to bring a little bit of that history into my own kitchen, even if my version isn’t perfect. It’s just bread, but it connects you somehow. Definitely making this again. Maybe try to get the shaping a bit better next time.
