Persian Barbari Bread Recipes

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!

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.

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.

BARBARI BREAD (NAN-E BARBARI)

Steps:

• In a wide mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 3 cups/720ml warm water. Add the sugar and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Add the salt to the yeast mixture and mix well. Gradually add the flour and stir constantly. When 6½ cups/650g flour have been added and you have a sticky dough, add 1 tablespoon oil and mix for 2 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured counter and knead for about 15 minutes, adding the rest of the flour if necessary, until the dough is no longer sticky.
• Lift the dough in the mixing bowl and pour 3 tablespoons oil into it, then turn the dough in the oil so it is coated all over. Cover the entire bowl with a clean damp dish towel and allow the dough to rise for 4 hours, without moving it, in a warm place (I use the oven with just the light on, or a pantry).
• Punch the air out of the dough while it is still in the bowl and flip it over. Cover again with the damp towel and allow to rise 2 for more hours.
• Place a baking stone in the lower level of the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) for at least 20 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix together the egg and yogurt until smooth.
• With oily hands, divide the dough into 4 balls. Place each ball on a lightly oiled surface. Use an oiled rolling pin to roll each ball out to an approximately 11in x 6in/28cm x 15cm oval shape. Place the loaves on an oiled surface, cover with the towel, and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Dust a baker's peel with cornmeal and transfer a loaf to it. Brush the egg wash and make dents along the length of the top of the loaf, then sprinkle the seeds on top.
• Immediately slide the dough onto the hot baking stone in the oven, cornmeal side down, and bake for 8 minutes. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes longer.

PERSIAN FLAT BREAD (BARBARI)

Steps:

• add flour and corn flour into a bowl, mix with salt.
• form a small crater and add sugar, crumble fresh yeast into crater and add about 5 tablespoons lukewarm water. Incorporate yeast, sugar and bit of the flour until a creamy paste forms. let this mixture/bowl rest in a warm place for about 25 minutes. Starter dough will have risen and is bubbly.
• incorporate rest of water and olive oil and knead thoroughly until a soft, but firm dough has formed.
• let rest for the minimum of 1 hour in a warm place.
• form oval shaped breads and brush with olive oil, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and let bake on high heat for about 10 to 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven (225°C).