Afghan bread
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Afghan bread or Nan-i-Afghani is the national bread of Afghanistan, the bread is oval or rectangle and baked in a tandoor, the primary cooking equipment of the sub-continent region. The Afghan tandoor sits above ground and is round and made of bricks, which are heated to cook the bread. Afghan bread also known as nan breads are shaped then stuck on the sides of the oven to bake. Often black cumin seeds or carraway seeds are sprinkled on Afghan bread for decoration as much as taste, further lines are made in the dough lengthwise to add texture to the bread. Afghan bread is considered an Arabian bread similar to Pita or Lebanese bread.
Afghan bread is commonly stocked at Middle Eastern grocery stores in western countries. In Afghanistan the baker still cooks the bread the traditional way by spreading the dough around the tandoor, whereby it gets puffy quickly and starts to colour and emit a fresh bread smell that draws the early morning throngs of people. The baker then uses two long iron tongs to pull the bread from the tandoor wall. It is carried in cloth bags by Afghans, unlike western breads packaged in plastic.
Similar to Arabs, bread is served with most meals and used as an equivalent to a fork to envelope foods and soak up liquids on the plate. Generally the bread is torn into shreds and used to pinch the foods similar to a sandwich. The bread acts as a fork and spoon, as Afghan often use their hands to eat. The bread has no firm crust and tastes similar to Indian naan bread. It has a dense and rich taste.
[edit] Recipe
makes 8 Afghan breads
- 1 half cups of water
- 1 700 grams dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1/4 cup of corn oil
mix the following
- 1 egg yolk,
- 1 tablespoons of water
- 1 tablespoons of black cuminseed or caraway seeds
Directions,
- Mix 1/2 cup , yeast, sugar let it sit for 10mins.
- Place flour in a mixing bowl and sprinkle salt. Make well then add oil and yeast mixture. Stir in and add small amounts of water until soft dough that can be moulded. Knead for 5mins. Cover with paper and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
- Divide dough into eight parts and roll each into a ball. Roll each bread into an oval shape 20cms long 5cms thick
- Make lines in top of dough. brush on egg mix and sprinkle the black cuminseeds.
- Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25 mins.
