Persian flatbread with sesame seeds and golden glaze — the iconic Iranian breakfast bread.
Nan-e Barbari is Iran's most popular flatbread — long, oval, and thick with a golden, blistered crust, brushed with a unique glaze called roomal (flour, oil, and baking soda cooked briefly), which gives it its characteristic sheen and chew. Topped with sesame and nigella seeds, it is baked at screaming-hot temperature and eaten freshly made for breakfast with white cheese, butter, honey, and tea.
Serves 6
Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt. Add water and oil. Knead 10 minutes until smooth. Cover and rise 1 hour.
Cook flour, oil, and baking soda with water in a small pan, stirring, until it thickens slightly. Cool.
Divide dough in two. Stretch each into a long oval about 30x15cm on oiled baking sheets. Let rest 20 minutes.
Make deep ridges lengthwise with your fingers. Brush generously with roomal glaze. Sprinkle sesame and nigella seeds.
Bake at highest oven temperature (240°C+) for 12–15 minutes until puffed and deeply golden. Eat immediately.
The hotter the oven, the better the bread.
The roomal glaze is what makes barbari special — don't skip it.
Top with poppy seeds instead of nigella.
Add dried herbs to the dough.
Best eaten same day. Reheat briefly in a hot oven.
Barbari bread was named after the Hazara people (once called Barbari in Persian) who first introduced this bread to Tehran in the 19th century. Today it is Iran's most consumed bread.
Yes — freeze after baking. Reheat directly in a hot oven from frozen for 5 minutes.
Per serving (120g) · 6 servings total
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