Barbari Bread Recipe | Delicious, thickest Persian flatbread

Barbari Bread is a type of bread that is commonly baked in Iran and is produced in both traditional and industrial ways.

The name of the barbari bread is derived from the Berber tribe (Hazaras), who lived on the border between Iran and Afghanistan. 

At the end of the Qajar era, some Berbers started baking this bread in Tehran and popularized it.

Today, Berber bread is considered one of the flatbreads.  To gain amazing information and the best recipe, be with Cookery Magazine.

Ingredients for making Barbari Bread

Bakery flour	350 grams (2.5 cups)
lukewarm water	1 cup
Sugar	1 teaspoon
Yeast	1 tablespoon
improving agents (optional)	½ a teaspoon
Butter	20 grams
Liquid oil	30 grams (¼ a cup)
Salt	1 teaspoon
Sesame	1 tablespoon

The ingredients of the surface part of the barbari bread

Water	⅓ cup
flour	1 tablespoon
Sesame (if you wish)	As much as needed

Recipe for making Barbari Bread

The first step

First, pour the yeast together with lukewarm water and sugar into a suitable container and mix well until they are uniform, then close the lid of the container and let the yeast puff for 5 to 10 minutes.

The second step

We choose a deep and spacious container and pour half of the flour along with the improving agents (improver), liquid oil, yeast, and salt into it and mix well until they are uniform.

Then, we add the rest of the flour little by little. First, we mix the ingredients with a spoon and then knead well with our hands until the dough is soft, slightly sticky, and well-set.

* There is no need to add more flour.

The third step in making barbari bread

After the dough is gathered, we add the butter that we have removed from the refrigerator in order to get soft, soften the dough, and knead a little until the dough absorbs the butter.

In the end, our dough should be a little sticky and should not be completely floury and dry.

The fourth step

Grease a deep dish with twice the volume of the dough with a little oil and put the dough in it. Cover the dish with cellophane and place a clean napkin on it, then place it in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume.

The fifth step

The sixth step

Now, we draw a line on the bread with our hand or any other object, put it in the oven tray, and cover it with clean nylon so that it doesn’t dry.

Now, we let the dough rest in the oven tray in an open state for another thirty minutes.

The seventh step

After thirty minutes, we drew a line on the dough again, rubbed the ingredients of the surface part of the barbari bread on the dough with our hands, and sprinkled a little sesame on the dough if desired.

We turn on the oven 200 to 230 degrees Celsius 20 minutes before until it is completely heated.

The eighth stage of barbari bread process

To create moisture in the oven, we fill a bowl with boiling water and place it in the oven.

Place the barbari breads in the oven for 25 minutes until they are fully cooked. If the bread has no color, turn it on the grill for a few minutes until it is golden.

The ninth stage in preparing barbari bread

After baking the Barbari bread, we took the tray out of the oven and waited a few minutes for the bread to cool down a bit. We cut the bread with scissors and turned it into smaller pieces. In order to prevent the breads from drying out, we put them in nylon.

Golden tips for having the best barbari bread

How to prepare Barbari bread in a toaster

To cook Barbari bread in the toaster, first turn on the toaster at a temperature of 220 degrees Celsius until it heats up.

Then, put a bowl of boiling water in the toaster. After placing the bread in the middle layer of the toaster, place an aluminum foil in front of the upper element of the toaster so that it does not dry out the surface of the bread.

After 20 to 30 minutes, when the bread is cooked and puffed up completely, remove the aluminum foil from the front of the upper element of the toaster so that it turns golden on the bread as well.

Having a journey in the history of Persian flatbread

There have been many stories about why the name of this type of bread was chosen.

One of them is that in the middle of the 1269 to 1279 AH, a group of Hazaras people migrated from the Berbers or Hazarajat region of Afghanistan to eastern Iran. Therefore, this people was known as Berber or Barbar in Iran

Berber means savage; some people call the Afghan Shias Berbers, and this is a great insult to the Afghan Shias (Hazaras).

Barbari Halwa of Mashhad also has the same origin as Barbari bread.

According to another narration, Barbari’s true name was Qilaj. This bread was prepared in Ottoman countries for the consumption of army soldiers.

This bread was the main food of Ottoman soldiers. Ottoman soldiers believed that this bread gave them superhuman strength.

The belief in the strength of this bread has been to such an extent that during celebrations, Ottoman wrestlers, athletes, and champions would eat a little of this bread before going to the field.

During the invasion of the Ottoman Turks, this bread came to Iran. In addition to the name of this bread, Iranians changed its cooking method and produced it with whole wheat flour.

Features and appearance of barbari bread

Baking soda is not used in this type of bread, which adds to its nutritional value. In general, this bread has a higher nutritional value than other breads made from white flour.

Of course, some bakeries prepare this bread with baking soda, and to make it yellow, they rub some flour and baking soda on it, which is the special taste and smell of this bread due to the use of this combination.

The special taste and smell of this bread is due to the use of a combination of water and a small amount of yeast, which is rubbed on the bread dough by the baker before baking.

Also, sometimes, while cooking this bread, some sesame is added to it, which doubles its price (even up to two times). 

Doing this will make you feel only the taste of sesame in your mouth instead of the sweet and pleasant taste of Barbari bread.

Usually, bakers do this (adding sesame) just to make more profit, and unfortunately, in some cases, they cause customer dissatisfaction by forcing sesame to be sold.

This bread is prepared from *star flour, regular flour (whole wheat), and sometimes a mixture of these two, water, salt, industrial yeast, or sourdough during fermentation processes. 

• (*The amount of bran extracted from the grains of this flour is between 21 and 23 percent.
• It can absorb more water and has the power to store gases from fermentation.
• Among the other features of Fantasy (star) flour, we can mention its high protein content, soft granulation, and uniform texture.)

Properties of Persian flatbread

Bulky bread such as Barbari bread lasts longer than other bread and is more suitable in terms of nutrition because natural healing materials are used in it. Usually, the vitamins, minerals, and protein of these breads are higher.

In addition, Barbari bread with millet flour also heals stomach and kidney ulcers.

Conclusion of naan barbari

The Artistry of Barbari Bread: Crafting Tradition and Flavor in Every Loaf.

Thank you for being with us and providing this delicious and popular bread. If you have any questions, it’s my honor to answer. Enjoy your exploration of Persian cuisine!

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Frequently Asked Questions about Noon Barbari