# ID this Middle Eastern bread **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013 "2002-07-20T21:33:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/1 "2002-07-20T21:33:32Z")
Back in the late 70’s, early 80’s in Kuwait we used to buy a type of bread that was made fresh in a kiln while you waited. It was a big dome kiln with an opening in the front. Some dough was flattened, sort of like a pizza crust and then it was pressed up against the inside roof of the kiln using a sort of pillow like thing. After a few minutes it would bubble and brown. Pull it out and you’ve got something very tasty. I _believe_ that the name of it was the Arabic words of “Iranian Bread”. Does anyone know what this type of bread is call? Is there anywhere outside of the Middle East you can get it? (Hopefully in Toronto 🙂 ) Thanks… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/2 "2002-07-20T21:39:34Z")
Sounds like the _tandoori nan_ that you can get in any Afghan kabab joint. ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/3 "2002-07-20T21:42:36Z")
Isn’t nan a soft bread? This type I’m looking for was crunchy as I recall… ---
**Author:** ![VDarlin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e56c9b/32.png) [@VDarlin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VDarlin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/4 "2002-07-20T22:02:52Z")
The naan that I get from my local Indian food place(and several others I’ve visited in the past) is definitely a soft bread. I’d be interested in finding out what it is that you are looking for, as crunchy naan sounds as though it might be good. ~V ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/5 "2002-07-20T22:34:33Z")
It could be _Lavash_ or one of it’s many variants (there are very many flat bread types around the Middle East and Mediterranean regions) ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/6 "2002-07-20T22:51:58Z")
Nan is made exactly as you describe. Good nan will have some soft and some crunchy parts. Perhaps the bread you had was simply a variant of nan that is cooked a little longer so it gets crunchy. ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/7 "2002-07-20T23:06:01Z")
Oops, I made an error… I just clarified with my mother… it was not a crunchy bread… it was a very soft bread, softer than pita (which we also ate a lot of). I guess I just remember seeing it frozen… It’s definitely not nan bread though… we used to eat that at a chicken chain in Kuwait and my parents eat that regularly at Indian restaurants… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/8 "2002-07-20T23:18:21Z")
Ah, if it was soft, then it might have been _Aiysh_ (or that’s what they call it in Egypt, but similar things are made all over). I still think it might be _Lavash_ though; this can be cooked either way to become crispy or soft. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/9 "2002-07-20T23:19:59Z")
Or it could be _Khoubiz_; as I said, there are so many types and they aren’t always all that distinguishable. ---
**Author:** ![cagiva650](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cagiva650](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cagiva650)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/10 "2002-07-21T01:31:54Z")
That sounds like something I had at Aries London Grill called \* pompadums\*. Flat crunchy with different flavors they servied it with a salsa/chutney type condiment. ---
**Author:** ![blainer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a698b9/32.png) [@blainer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blainer)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/11 "2002-07-21T02:22:59Z")
Not papadum, that’s generally deep-fried. Could it be chipati (sp.)? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/12 "2002-07-21T02:50:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Could it be chipati (sp.) Ch_a_pati is cooked on a hotplate, not in an oven. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/13 "2002-07-21T14:10:50Z")
Is it **Pide** bread? Sounds like pita (flat) bread, but this is quite different. A classic loaf - the bread is so popular here it is being produced as rolls too - is an oval about 40cm x 20cm and about 3cm thick at the edges with the middle a little bit punched in. The top is almost crisp with a very sparse dusting of flour and seeds. The top is skinlike and nearly separated from the rest of the loaf. Pretty ordinary cold, amazing if fresh and hot. Also known here as Turkish bread. ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/14 "2002-07-21T15:02:03Z")
I think you’re referring to ‘bar-bar-i’ bread. Here’s some info on it. Lavash is flat (like paper) and is rolled. It looks like [this](http://www.foodsubs.com/Flatbread.html) (fourth bread down. It’s usually eaten for breakfast with hot tea, goat cheese (paneer), honey, butter and greens. You can probably buy it from an Iranian market. There are loads of them in Los Angeles. I’m sure there is an Iranian restaurant (sometimes called “Persian” or “Ali Baba”–don’t ask me why) somewhere in Ontario. Here is a recipe for [barbari.](http://recipes.alastra.com/middle-eastern/barbari02.html) ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/15 "2002-07-21T15:03:09Z")
Eep, I may have know the answer, but my editing needs a bit of work. I should have put the sentence 'Lavash is…" at the end to explain that what you’re describing is NOT lavash. ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/16 "2002-07-21T15:33:17Z")
Wow… lots of good suggestions… thanks folks! Anahita: I showed that picture to my mother and she said right away no… it was a very thin bread. The closest looking one we can see is Cracker Bread/Lavash. Although what we got was round and bubbley. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/17 "2002-07-21T15:52:42Z")
I’m much obliged to you **Anahita** , that’s a great page (although a number of breads - particularly the paratha and naan - look decidedly undercooked to me). The bread I called _pide_ looks like a cross between barbari and sangak on that page. ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/18 "2002-07-21T16:36:17Z")
**wooba** Hrmmm…round and bubbly but flat? It could be sangak. Did it have ridges? _sang(ak)_ is stone in Farsi and they use the stones to make ridges in the bread. Every inch or so, they lay a strip of stones to flatten that part of the bread, while the spaces in between raise. Is that what you mean? ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/19 "2002-07-21T16:37:22Z")
Obviously they take the stones out before selling it! Also, there are many regional breads, and it could be any of those, too. This is making me HUNGRY! ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013/20 "2002-07-21T17:31:42Z")
No, I used to watch them cook it… the dough was pressed up against the inside of the kiln wall… My dad said he asked an Iranian guy once and he thinks it’s called Taftoom or something like that… but I can’t find any reference to that on the internet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-middle-eastern-bread/120013.md?page=2)