A long, thick Iranian flatbread with deep ridges and a glossy, sesame-strewn crust, baked daily and eaten with cheese and herbs for breakfast.
Barbari is the everyday bread of Iran, its name said to trace to the Barbar people of the eastern frontier who supplied it to the Qajar court. Bakers brush the dough with a flour-and-water glaze called roomal that lacquers the crust golden, then score the long deep ridges that make a fresh barbari, warm from the oven, irresistible alongside feta and walnuts.
Crisp, lacquered crust gives way to a soft, airy crumb. The sesame seeds toast fragrant in the oven, and the bread is sturdy enough to scoop up cheese yet tender within. Best eaten the hour it is baked.
The roomal flour glaze gelatinizes on the surface to create a glossy, crackly crust, while high oven heat sets the deep ridges and maximizes oven spring.
Variations
With nigella seeds, whole wheat, sweet version, topped with both sesame and caraway
On the Palate
Where Barbari Bread sits in the Persian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 115 min
Mix flour, yeast, salt, and water into a soft dough and knead well.
- 290 min
Cover and let the dough rise until doubled in size.
Watch outLet it rise until truly doubled and puffy — under-proofed dough won't give you the airy crumb and big oven spring Barbari is known for.
- 38 min
Prepare the roomal glaze by cooking flour and water into a thin paste.
- 410 min
Shape the dough into long ovals and let it rest briefly.
- 55 min
Press deep parallel ridges along the length with oiled fingers.
Watch outPress the ridges deep with oiled fingers, right down toward the tray — shallow grooves flatten out in the oven and you lose the signature look.
- 64 min
Brush generously with the roomal glaze and scatter sesame seeds.
- 715 min
Bake in a very hot oven until deep golden and crisp.
Watch outBake in a screaming-hot oven until deep gold and crackly — the flour glaze needs that blast to set glossy and shatter-crisp.
- 83 min
Cool slightly and serve warm with cheese and herbs.
