🇦🇿 Azerbaijani Cuisine

Tandir Chorek

Tandoor-Baked Bread

Prep Time 30 min

Servings 8

Difficulty Hard

Calories 223 kcal

Large round bread baked by slapping dough onto the walls of a blazing-hot underground clay tandoor oven. The result is a thick, slightly chewy bread with a smoky char and a soft, airy interior.

Ingredients

1kg all-purpose flour
10g dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
600ml warm water
Sesame seeds or nigella seeds for topping

Instructions

1 Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.
2 Mix flour and salt, add yeast water, and knead into a smooth dough.
3 Let rise for 1 hour until doubled.
4 Divide into 4 large rounds, about 2cm thick.
5 Dimple the surface with fingertips and sprinkle with seeds.
6 Bake at highest oven temperature (or in a tandoor) for 12-15 minutes.
7 Cool on a rack. Tear apart to serve.

Did You Know?

In rural Azerbaijan, village women gather at a communal tandoor oven for bread-baking days, turning the process into a social event complete with tea and gossip. A single session can produce enough bread for a week.