Uzbek Stamped Bread (Non/Nan)

This Uzbek flatbread is a fluffy yeasted bread that is delicious warm with butter and honey or jam, or simply torn and dipped in your favorite soup or stew. 

 




This bread, in various forms, depending on the region, is the traditional bread of Uzbekistan, a country just north of Afghanistan. Some recipes call for mostly water, while other recipes call for dairy. It often depends on the region. 

This bread is called "non" or "nan," and is baked in a tandyr oven (which is similar to a tandoor oven). Evidently, in this region of Central Asia, this bread can be bought from street vendors almost everywhere. 

What makes this bread special (along with it being delicious) is that it is flattened in the middle with a "chekich," a bread stamp made with tines that are in various designs. 

I found this small one on Etsy in the ArtsyUzbek shop. The stamp was actually shipped from Uzbekistan wrapped in paper with string and sealing wax! I probably should have bought a larger one, but I'm trying really hard to resist buying more bread stamps! 

If you'd like to try this bread without having to buy a bread stamp, you can just flatten the center of the bread round with the bottom of a glass, and then poke the flattened part with the tines of a fork into a pattern. 

I flattened just the center of the bread with the stamp, but you can create patterns all over the bread, depending on your preference for fluffy versus flattened bread. 

For a gorgeous design, be sure to check out my friend Sally of Bewitching Kitchen's works of art. I got the idea for using yogurt in the dough as well as mixing in some spelt flour from Sally, and the resulting bread was wonderful. Hers are so decorative!

Mine looks more like the ones from Food52, big and puffy on the outside with a small stamp in the middle. The bread made great tear-apart dinner rolls. 

One of the rules for eating this Uzbek bread is that you should not cut it with a knife. this bread must be torn into pieces instead. 

For this bread, I used a mixture of bread flour and whole spelt flour, along with water and plain yogurt. 

To make the rounds, divide the risen dough into four pieces and flatten them into rounds. Next, stamp the center with a lot of pressure with the stamp and then bake the rounds. Mine puffed up quite a bit all around, kind of like a bagel. 

P.S. Here it is with buttah!  

This month the Bread Baking Babes are baking Uzbek flatbread. It's our 13th anniversary, and our host is Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups. I'm very jealous of her bread stamp collection. 

You can substitute all water for the yogurt in this recipe. Tanna also has a sourdough version. 

I was very excited that the stamp actually worked in keeping the center of the loaf flat while the rest of the bread rose. I spend a lot of time peeking in the oven window just to make sure. 

After the recipe, be sure to check out all of the Bread Baking Babes' versions of this Uzbek "non." 

Uzbek Flatbread

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

This Uzbek flatbread is a fluffy yeasted bread that is delicious warm with butter and honey or torn and dipped in your favorite soup or stew.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 to 13 1/4 ounces bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 3 to 4 1/4 ounces whole spelt or whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix all of the dough ingredients for 6 minutes on medium low speed. Begin with the smaller amount of flour and add more as needed. The final dough should be tacky but not sticky. 
2. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours, until doubled. 
3. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. If you have a baking stone, place it on the middle rack (if you don't have a baking stone, you can bake these on a baking sheet). Fill a sprayer with water. 
4. On a floured surface, divide the dough into four balls. Cover with a towel and let the balls rest for 5 minutes. 
5. On a piece of parchment paper flatten two of the balls into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Press the center with your fist or a glass, and then stamp with the bread stamp. 
6. Load the two loaves onto the stone, parchment and all, spray the oven walls generously with water, and close the oven door. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. 
7. Repeat with the other two loaves. 
8. Cool on a wire rack. This bread can be served warm from the oven. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/02/uzbek-stamped-bread-nonnan.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

flatbread, non, naan

Bread

Uzbekistan

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Check out the rest of the Bread Baking Babes' stamped breads.

• My Kitchen in Half Cups (learn how to participate as a Bread Baking Buddy)

• Bread Experience

• A Messy Kitchen

• Judy's Gross Eats

• Blog from OUR Kitchen