Around the world in a good few bakes... Iranian bread (Noon Barbari)

So, this week has brought me to... Iran!

Now, when I think of Iran I think of... umm... it used to be known as Persia, and they probably like rosewater?!

Pretty rubbish knowledge. Soz Iran. So I did a quick search and came up with a few fun facts. Basically, I am hugely ignorant, and Iranian food sounds amazing. Nuts, spices, rosewater (yay), orange blossom water, dried fruits and other such wonders abound. Also, there are a number of traditional breads which include this one. Any country which loves their spices and bread is good with me, so here goes... Apologies to anyone with and Iranian connections who may be offended by my attempt at this traditional bread!

Noon Barbari is, as far as I can gather, a traditional flatbread which has a couple of USPs. Firstly, it had these (four?) grooves in it, and second it is glazed with a funny mixture of baking powder, water and flour boiled together before being baked (Roomal), which gives it a fab crust and also a slightly browner appearance that you might expect.

Ingredients:

• First stage: 1 1/2 tsp dried yeast, 1 1/2 tsp honey, 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water, 1 1/4 cups bread flour. Whisk together until a bubbly batter is formed. then leave it 20 minutes til it's frothy and spongy looking...

• Next, add 1 tsp salt and 2 cups more flour, along with 1/2 tsp baking powder, and knead or dough-hook for 10 mins. It may be sloppy - keep going and it will come together! It did need a good 10 minutes to become workable. 

Rise for an hour...

Knock back gently, then I let it rise again for about half an hour while I made the Roomal...

• Roomal: 1/2 tsp flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup water - plop it in a jug, microwave for a minute until it boils for a bit, give it a whisk and then leave it to cool. It looks weird. Roomal done.
• Next... shapey shapey... I made four ovaly things, then dipping fingers into the glaze brush it all over and make four grooves along the shapes...

Lastly, sprinkle with nigella seeds...

And finally, BAKE! (a la Sue off GBBO) for 20 mins at 200 degrees C. This is what I ended up with...

Overall, it is a yummy bread. I have no real idea how close I may be to an actual traditional Noon Barbari, but it is light and fluffy with a chewy, crispy crust. Apparently it is eaten with crumbled feta style cheese and nuts. I indeed did eat one for dinner with crumbled, warmed feta, roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes and thyme. And it was ruddy delicious. Iran, excellent work :)

Next... Ghana. Better get researching!

JB x