Barbari bread
{{Short description|Iranian flatbread}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Barbari bread
| image = Iranian Bread 1.JPG
| image_size = 200px
| caption =
| alternate_name =
| region = Razavi Khorasan
| creator =
| course =
| served =
| main_ingredient = Wheat flour
| variations =
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Barbari bread ({{Langx|fa|نان بربری|nân-e barbari}}) is a type of Iranian yeast leavened flatbread. It is one of the thickest flat breads and is commonly topped with sesame or black caraway seeds. A notable characteristic of the bread is its top skin that is similar to pretzels or lye roll's skin due to the Maillard reaction that occurs during baking. Before baking it is glazed with a mixture of baking soda, flour and water.
It is widely known as Persian flatbread in United States and Canada.{{cite book|title=Cereals: Processing and Nutritional Quality|first=Sewa|last=Ram|publisher=New India Publishing|page=27|year=2009|isbn=978-9-380-23507-3}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/hot-bread-kitchens-nan-e-barbari-recipe|title=Nan-e Barbari|publisher=Reform Judaism|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131211604/http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/hot-bread-kitchens-nan-e-barbari-recipe|archive-date=31 January 2016|url-status=dead}}
Etymology
Barbari bread traces back to the Qajar era. It apparently takes its name from a community of people called Barbars which was settled around Teheran during the 19th century.{{cite book |last=Wulff |first=Hans E. |date=1966 |title=The Traditional Crafts of Persia |url=https://archive.org/details/traditionalcraft0000wulf/ |location=Cambridge |publisher=M.I.T. Press |page=291 |access-date=25 March 2025 |quote=Nān-e barbari is bread of medium hardness, about 3/4 inch thick and leavened like the sangak. It has its name from a community of Berbers which one of the Qajār šāhs settled south of Teheran during the last century }}{{cite journal |last1=Karizaki |first1=Vahid Mohammadpour |date=2017 |title=Ethnic and traditional Iranian breads: different types, and historical and cultural aspects |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618116301421 |journal=Journal of Ethnic Foods |volume=4 |issue=1 |publisher=BMC Springer |pages=10-11 | access-date=25 March 2025| quote=Barbars were an ethnic group indigenous to northeastern Iran that borders Afghanistan. Barbari implies of or related to barbars. Dehkhoda dictionary of Persian language has mentioned a type of bread that was baked by a barbars group called barbari. The barbars brought this bread to Tehran during the Qajar period.}}
During the Qajar dynasty, numerous Hazaras immigrated to Khorasan province. The Hazaras of Khorasan province were known by the name Barbar until the Pahlavi period. While the term "Barbari" for this tribe was replaced by "Khavari" by royal edict of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi,{{citation |last1=Shobhas Food Mazaa|title=Change of title "Barbari" to "Khavari"|url=https://www.shobhasfoodmazaa.com/2016/06/iranian-persian-barbari-bread-naan-e.html|quote=The Barbars hated being referred by such a name and Reza Shah granted them the name Khavari (Easterners)}}{{Cite web |title=Home Page {{!}} خبرگزاری فارس |url=https://www.farsnews.ir/af/news/13940718000344/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%85 |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.farsnews.ir}}{{cite web |last=میزان |first=خبرگزاری |date=2020-02-26 |title=نان «بربری» از کجا آمد؟ |url=https://www.mizanonline.ir/fa/news/798935/%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%DA%A9%D8%AC%D8%A7-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%AF |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=fa |language=fa}} the bread itself kept its title and is now commonly known as "nān-e barbari" in Iran.
The bread is still referred to as nān-e barbari in Iran while Hazaras refer to it as nān-e tanūri ("tandoor [tandir] bread").{{Cite web |title=Khoeimini Anniversary Controversy in Kabul |url=http://www.hazara.net/news/news2012/khoemini/khoemini-anniversary-kabul.html |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.hazara.net}}{{Cite web |last=میزان |first=خبرگزاری |date=2020-02-26 |title=نان «بربری» از کجا آمد؟ |url=https://www.mizanonline.ir/fa/news/798935/%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%DA%A9%D8%AC%D8%A7-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%AF |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=fa |language=fa}} It is popular among Iranian Azerbaijanis.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
Manufacture and style
The bread is usually 70 cm to 80 cm long, and 25 cm to 30 cm wide.{{cite book|title=Flat Bread Technology|url=https://archive.org/details/flatbreadtechnol00qaro|url-access=limited|first=Jalal|last=Qarooni|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2012|isbn=978-1-461-31175-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/flatbreadtechnol00qaro/page/n85 75]}} It is the most common style baked in Iran. It is served in many restaurants with Lighvan cheese, a ewe's milk cheese similar to feta cheese.{{cite web|url=http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-life/food-recipes/persian-nan-o-paneer-bread-cheese|title=Persian Nan o Paneer (Bread with Cheese)|publisher=Reform Judaism|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053848/http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-life/food-recipes/persian-nan-o-paneer-bread-cheese|url-status=dead}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Flatbreads}}
{{Iranian bread}}
{{Cuisine of Iran|bread}}