I've had my eye on the Hot Bread Kitchen Nan-e Barbari recipe for some time, but interestingly not because of my frequent visits to the Hot Bread Kitchen stand at one of our local farmers markets. Instead, it was a delightfully pictured Nan-e Barbari email that King Arthur Flour sent out that initially attracted me to this bread.
While my pictures won't do justice to the KAF images, it was a solid bread to construct on a recent weekend day. The bread requires only two relatively short rises, and is out of the oven in 15 minutes. It also is a good way to use up the jar of nigella seeds in my cupboard that I otherwise don't really know what to do with.
The flavor and texture are also great out of the oven, with the crusty exterior and baked seasonings making up for the lack of flavor in the bread itself. As the bread aged over the week, it got harder and harder to eat - just mushy, dense, and bland.
I'd recommend this bread as a subtle complement to a spicy soup or Middle Eastern meal - but just out of the oven, consumed day of, or the pizza form that KAF recommends. Otherwise, I think a longer rise bread with more yeast flavor would be a better accompaniment to main courses.
To the recipe itself - combine the ingredients and knead into a smooth ball.
Cover and let rise for an hour or until almost doubled in size.
If you followed the recipe proportions, you divide this ball into two and shape the balls into logs. I halved the recipe, so just had to shape one log to then rest and rise for approx. 30 minutes.
As the log(s) is rising, you prepared a simple sugar glaze to brush on the final dough.
Then shape the logs, spread on the glaze, and add the sesame and nigella seeds. Bake for approx. 15 minutes (my pizza stone wasn't clean, so I used a baking sheet), and serve as soon as the bread slightly cools!
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