Barbari Recipes

PERSIAN BARBARI BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with the one third of the water and sugar and stir it, then leave it to rest for a while. The yeast will prepare itself and puff. When it was ready, add the water, melted butter, salt and oil to the yeast and let it rest a little bit more. Now you have a liquid dough and you cannot make bread with it. You need to make it seem and act like a real paste, which is possible by adding flour and the wholegrain of wheat to it gradually. Knead the paste gradually and firmly. Do it until the dough is not sticky any longer. Add the remaining cup of the flour very slowly to the paste in order not to have a very hard dough. When you see it does not stick to the hands, put the flour aside. Wrap it up with plastic or freezer bags and let it rest for an hour or so to have it all ready.
• While the dough is resting, go for the covering material of the bread. Mix the flour (2 tbsp) with the water and put it on the flame and let it become condensed.
• Pick the dough and spread it on the tray covered by the flour on the surface. When you spread the dough just like the bread in the picture, cover the surface of the dough with the condensed liquid you made on the flame and sprinkle as much sesame as you wanton it. Place the tray in the oven that you have preheated and let it bake for35 minutes with the heat of 350 F or 10 minutes with the heat of 500 F.

BARBARI (A PERSIAN BREAD)

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in 1/2 c water, let sit a few minutes to proof (foam).
• Mix bread flour, baking powder and salt together. Make a well in the flour, and slowly incorporate the yeast mixture, and then the remaining 1 cup of water.
• Knead 15 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.
• Divide dough into 2 round pieces.
• Sprinkle a large baking sheet with cornmeal, transfer the dough to it. Lightly cover and place in a warm place until doubled in bulk (~1.5 hours).
• Meanwhile, bring the glaze ingredients to a boil, let cool. Brush lightly over the dough.
• Now for the tricky part! Dip your fingers into the glaze, and punch the dough down with the edges of your hands to form several long parallel ridges along the dough.
• Brush the dough with the glaze again, sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Carefully stretch the dough lengthwise (it should be approximately 8 inches wide and 18 long-- I never measured it!) until it is about 1/4-1/2" thick.
• Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden. The bread should be slightly flexible when done. If you overcook it (as I did in my first attempt- by 8 minutes), it will turn out more like ciabatta-- still good!
• Good luck!

BARBARI

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup (100 ml) of warm water and set aside for 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl or the bowl of the stand mixer, mix the flour and the baking powder.
• Make a well and add the dissolved yeast. Mix everything by incorporating the water gradually. Then, add the salt.
• Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it is homogenous and somewhat elastic.
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Place the pieces on a well-floured plate, cover and let rise in a warm place, away from drafts, for 90 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, mix all the ingredients for the romal then bring them to a boil and set aside to cool to a temperature of about 75 F (25˚C).
• On a well-floured work surface, flatten the dough pieces by dipping your hands in the romal so that the dough does not stick.
• Flatten the dough in order to obtain an oval shape and a thickness of about ¼ inch (0,5 cm).
• With the tip of your fingers (except the thumb) or using a long knife, make scratches on the surface of the loaves. Brush them generously with the romal then sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
• Let rise for another 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F (190˚C), then bake the bread for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

BARBACOA

Steps:

• Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place the dried guajillo chiles into the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until the color changes and the chiles have puffed, about 5 minutes. Set the chiles aside to cool for a moment. Meanwhile, toast the cumin and cloves in the hot skillet until the cumin seeds begin to pop; remove from the pan and set aside. Remove and discard the stems, seeds, and veins of the chiles, and place into a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over top, and cover. Let the chiles soak for 1 hour.
• Grind the toasted cumin and cloves into a powder, and place into a blender. Add the ancho chile powder, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, vinegar, and lime juice. Remove the chiles from the soaking water, and place into the blender along with 1/3 cup of the soaking liquid. Cover, and blend until a smooth paste forms.
• Place the beef roast into a mixing bowl, and pour the guajillo chile past over top. Coat the roast on all sides with the paste, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Transfer the roast and marinade to a roasting pan, and arrange the bay leaves over top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven until the meat is very tender and is easily pulled apart with a fork, about 6 hours. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour before discarding the bay leaves and shredding with two forks.

NAN-E BARBARI

Steps:

• For the dough: Mix the olive oil, yeast, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 cups warm water in a large bowl. Add the flour 1 cup at a time and mix using a wooden spoon until the dough is fully incorporated and there are no bits of flour visible, 5 to 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place in a draft-free spot and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
• Uncover the dough, transfer it to a well-floured surface and dust the top with 1 tablespoon flour. Flip the dough using a bench scraper and use your hands to shape it into a ball. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the glaze: While the oven is heating, mix the flour, baking soda and 1/2 cup water in a small pan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and reaches the consistency of ketchup, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
• Transfer the dough to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon the glaze over the dough and use your hands to spread the dough into a roughly 12-by-16-inch oval or rectangle that's about 1 inch thick. Using your fingertips, make rows of indentations on the dough lengthwise to form lines. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and nigella seeds.
• Bake until the bread is fully cooked and golden on the top, about 25 minutes. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel for 10 minutes before serving.