Iran and its Breads

 Iran is a country with a great heritage and history, and therefore there are a number of historical monuments and buildings in the country that is worth visiting.

In addition to these historical places, due to the verity of ethnic groups in different parts of the country, you will be amazed at the variety of foods, desserts, confectioneries, pickles, and even bread accordingly.

Having a slice of bread with cheese or butter and jam is very typical in the country. Beside that many people have cooked rice or bread with their lunch or dinner, and therefore there are different types of bread in every village and the city around the country.

However, four types of bread are more popular and mostly used by all people, these include Barbari, Sangak, Taftoon, and Lavash. In this article, we are going to talk about these most popular types of bread in Iran.

Barbari Bread

Barbari bread

Barbari bread is the thickest flatbread with approximately 70 centimeters long and about 25 centimeters wide. It is usually prepared with refined flour, baked plain or with sesame seeds with a crisp crust and light airy texture.

The word “Barbari” means belonging to Barbar, and Barbar stands for a group of people who lived in the northeast of Iran, to be more precise the Hazara people living in North Khorasan Province. The bread got its name due to the place it was first baked in, and later brought to Tehran and become one of the most popular types of bread in the Qajar Dynasty.

Sangak Bread

Sangak Bread is baked with whole wheat flavor and therefore it is the healthiest type of bread among others. It’s very common to have Sangak Bread with Kebab, Dizi, and Abgoosht. Sangak Bread is not only popular in Iran but also in Azerbaijan.

According to historical evidence, it was first mentioned in the 11^th century, which was traditionally the bread of the Persian army

Literally, Sangak means little stone (Sang stands for stone), the reason for that is the baking method of the bread which is baked in an oven, on a bed of small stones. It is a plain, and rectangular bread with different types of toppings such as sesame seeds, dried herbs, or caraway.

Taftoon Bread

Taftoon Bread

Taftoon, Taftan, or Taftun is a leavened flour bread baked in Iran, Pakistan and India. Name of this bread is derived from “tafan” which stands for “heating”.

It has been used and baked through history and was mentioned in Shahnameh; the Iranian national epics, for the first time.

The traditional way of baking the bread was baking in a clay oven called tanoor in Farsi. Usually, some bakers make some dimples all over the dough with fingertips.

Lavash Bread

Lavash bread

Lavash Bread is very popular in Iran and its neighboring countries, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.

Lavash Bread, the preparation, and meaning of it was listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO from Armenia in 2014. However, after two years, in 2016, countries of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey were also added to the list of representatives.

Lavash Bread is usually very thin and circle shaped. Some bakers add sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds are sometimes sprinkled on before baking.