Barbari Bread (Persian Flatbread)

Barbari Bread is a Persian flatbread I've been eating since childhood. The outside is crunchy with a soft chewy texture in the middle and I'm going to show you how easy it is to make it at home!

You don't need any fancy equipment to make this traditional Persian bread. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a large bowl...that's it! Enjoy it for breakfast, brunch or even lunch. It’s that good you’ll want it any time of the day 🙂

Some Persian dishes I like to serve it with are my Eggplant dip called Kashke Bademjan, Persian Omelette and even with my Whipped Feta Board.

We commonly eat Noon e Barbari alongside a Persian breakfast which is how I grew up eating it. My mother would go to the Persian bakery in the morning and bring home loaves of this beautiful bread which was wrapped in paper and still warm…..yum!

Some more easy bread recipes I've shared include my No Knead Focaccia, Healthy Banana Bread and easy Protein Bagels.

Table of Contents

• What is Barbari Bread?
• Ingredients to make Barbari Bread Persian Flatbread
• How to make Barbari Bread Persian Flatbread
• Tips & Tricks
• Storage and Heating
• What to serve Barbari Bread with
• More Bread Recipes
• More Persian Recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

What is Barbari Bread?

Barbari bread is known as “Noon Barbari” in farsi which also translates to Naan e Barbari. 

It's a traditional Persian flatbread and one of the most popular breads eaten in Iran, and a personal favorite of mine. It has a beautifully golden brown color with a signature shape including long indented stripes and topped with nigella and sesame seeds. The outside has a crunchy crust with a soft and chewy texture in the middle and is so delicious!

We commonly serve nan-e barbari alongside a Persian breakfast which consists of jams, feta cheese, mint leaves, walnuts and cucumbers. This combination of ingredients is also known as “noon panir sabzi” which translates to bread, cheese and herbs, and is served in restaurants and homes as an appetizer. 

Ingredients to make Barbari Bread Persian Flatbread

• All Purpose flour which is also known as plain flour, is the base of the recipe
• Lukewarm water is required and important to not be too hot as this will affect your yeast
• Instant yeast is used to assist the dough to rise. The great thing about using instant yeast is that you don't need to activate it in water first. You can also use dry yeast, however ensure that you activate it first by adding it to the lukewarm water and wait for it to bubble and foam before adding the yeast mixture into the other ingredients
• Salt is added to the mixture for flavor, I've used sea salt
• Sugar is added which assists with the flavor along with giving the dough that lovely golden color
• Extra virgin olive oil gives such a lovely aroma with mild taste and also gives the bread a nice soft texture. You can also use melted butter

Glaze

• A simple glaze is made by heating flour, water and sugar in a small saucepan for a few minutes. It's then brushed over the dough before it's baked, which gives the Barbari bread its lovely golden crust and color

How to make Barbari Bread Persian Flatbread

Prepare Dough

1. In a large bowl, add the flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt, mix well to combine
2. Slowly pour in the water whilst mixing with a wooden spoon
3. Add the olive oil and using the wooden spoon, knead the dough in the same bowl. I find it's much easier this way as it's a very sticky mixture. Keep kneading for at least 5-8 minutes until the dough has become elastic
4. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour. It will double in size
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and cut in two equal pieces. Sprinkle lightly with flour and one piece at a time fold all the sides under and shape into a oval loaf shape (as pictured). Cover the two doughs with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 1 hour
6. Whilst waiting, preheat the oven to 200℃/400℉ and make the glaze as detailed below. After an hour the dough would have increased in size (refer picture)

Make Glaze

1. In a small pan add a tablespoon of flour, ⅓ cup water and ½ teaspoon sugar and cook over a low heat. Use a whisk and whisk for a few minutes until it becomes a thick glaze consistency. Take off the heat to cool

Make Barbari Bread

1. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and transfer one of the doughs onto it. Stretch it with your hands lengthways, diagonally across the parchment paper to the two corners
2. Keep stretching all the edges to shape into a flat oval shape. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you want to make sure it's an even surface. Before being baked by dough was 39cm long and 14cm wide and my baking sheet is 47cm in length diagonally
3. Brush over a thin layer of the glaze
4. With your fingertips, make the signature design by making indentations along the bread lengthwise, about 1 inch apart (as pictured). If needed, you can go over the lines again
5. Sprinkle over nigella seeds and sesame seeds then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Whilst baking, you can prepare the other dough the same way
6. Serve as a Persian breakfast or with your favorite toppings and enjoy your fresh homemade Barbari Bread!

Tips & Tricks

1. Knead the dough right in the bowl with a wooden spoon. The dough mixture has a very sticky and wet consistency so its best to knead the dough in the same mixing bowl for about 5-8 minutes until you see the texture is nice and elastic
2. You can also use a stand mixer to do the kneading for you if you have a dough hook attachment. I personally prefer to do this step by hand 
3. Double resting the dough gives you the perfectly light and airy interior so don't miss this step. You can reduce the second resting time if needed but the full hour is best
4. When stretching the dough, don't be shy! The texture is quite stretchy and forgiving so stretch it well and pull the sides to make an oval shape which is an even layer so it cooks evenly
5. If you have a pizza stone or baking stone, you can also use this to bake the bread 

Storage and Heating

• Noon Babari is best when eaten the same day. It however keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days when in an airtight container or bag. You can then toast the bread or reheat in the oven or microwave
• Freezing barbari bread also works great! I usually cut the loaf into 5 or 6 pieces then place them in an airtight bag and freeze them for up to a month. Thaw and reheat in a toaster or oven and its like you just baked it. Just ensure to freeze it on the same day it was baked for optimal flavor

What to serve Barbari Bread with

You can really serve Barbari bread in so many ways! Here are some dishes I like to serve it with:

• Eggplant dip called Kashke Bademjan
• With feta cheese, fresh mint and cucumbers
• Mast o Khiar (Persian Cucumber Yogurt Dip)
• Hummus
• White bean dip
• Persian Omelette
• Whipped Feta Board

More Bread Recipes

• No Knead Focaccia
• Healthy Banana Bread
• 2 Ingredient Bagels
• Homemade Italian Pizza
• Choc-Chip Hot Cross Buns

More Persian Recipes

• Persian Patties (Kotlet)
• Persian Ice Cream (Bastani Sonnati)
• Shirazi Salad
• Mast o Khiar (Persian Cucumber Yogurt Dip)
• Lubia Polo (Green Bean Rice)
• Khoresh Bademjan (Eggplant Stew)
• Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice)
• Persian Eggplant Dip
• Persian Rice with Crispy Tahdig

I love seeing your creations and remakes, so be sure to rate the recipe, comment and share your Barbari Bread photo on Instagram so I can share the love!

Recipe