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This month we went more Arabic and baked Barbari bread, which is also common in Turkey. You can find them in any traditional bakery especialy in south-east or east parts of Turkey and they would call it simply lavash bread (lavaş ekmek). It can be different length but most common are very long ones which can be even longer than a metre. This bread is best when baked in a traditional clay oven, but simple oven baked barbari is also good. Actually very good, for breakfast, for a snack with some olives or cheese or for dinner with grilled meat, kofte or a stew.
Barbari
(makes 4)
What we need:
- 1 tbsp runny honey;
- 2 tbsp dry instant yeast;
- 325 ml warm water;
- 1 ½ tsp salt;
- 500g flour;
- 2 tbsp olive oil;
- Some sesame seeds and an egg for glaze.
What we have to do:
- Mix honey, yeast, and water in a bowl and leave it to activate for 5 min.
- Sieve the four and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Use a spoon to mix some yeast with flour just to make a paste. Don’t mix it all. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and leave it to prove for 20 min. Then finish mixing the dough. Transfer on a clean working surface and knead the dough for 10 min. You’ll end up with soft and elastic dough. Put it in a bowl and leave it to prove for 1-2 hours until doubles in size.
- Then divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape the bread. Put it on a parchment paper. Leave it to prove again.
- Preheat the oven up to 220C and add baking tray in it. You can make some holes with a fork or your finger on the bread. Brush it with beaten egg and sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Transfer the bread with parchment on a hot baking tray and bake the bread for 20 min until golden brown. Let it cool a bit and serve. Enjoy!
