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Best Barbari bread in Toronto
“A thick yeast flatbread with a pretzel-like skin, glazed and topped with sesame or black caraway.”
What the real thing tastes like
Barbari bread (Persian: نان بربری, romanized: nân-e barbari) is a type of Iranian yeast leavened flatbread. It is one of the thickest flat breads and is commonly topped with sesame or black caraway seeds. A notable characteristic of the bread is its top skin that is similar to pretzels or lye roll's skin due to the Maillard reaction that occurs during baking. Before baking it is glazed with a mixture of flour and water. It is widely known as Persian flatbread in United States and Canada.
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Barbari is Iran's answer to bread that refuses to be thin or timid. Thick and yeast-risen, it arrives topped with sesame or black caraway seeds, its surface darkened by the Maillard reaction into a pretzel-like mahogany skin—achieved by glazing with flour-water before it hits the oven. One of the heftiest flatbreads you'll encounter, it's become the Persian flatbread reference point across North America.
Order it here when it has
- substantial thickness
- distinctive pretzel-like crust
- versatile seed toppings
- widely recognized in North America
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