Vegetarian Recipe: Sweet Persian Bread

Every week on the Good Food Blog we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Naomi Duguid, author Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker’s Atlas, first shared this recipe for Sweet Persian Bread on August 16, 2008.

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Sweet Persian Bread (nane sheer)

Makes approximately 2 dozen 3- to 4-inch square thin flatbreads.

These breads are more like cookies than flatbreads, but they are so simple and delicious we had to include them. They are made with milk and flavored with brown sugar and vanilla. We should warn you that they can be somewhat hard-to-the-bite once they’ve cooled, so enjoy them as they are customarily served, with a cup of hot tea or coffee, and dunk the breads to soften them. They are also delicious dunked in hot milk for a milk-and-cookies-style snack.

• 2 cups hard unbleached white flour, or more as necessary

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 cup milk, or more as necessary

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. You will need a medium-sized mixing bowl, two small (10- by 14-inch) baking sheets that can fit side by side in your oven, a rolling pin, and a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

2. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Whisk or stir together. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir the flour into the milk until a soft, kneadable dough begins to form. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour; if too dry, add a little more milk. Turn out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Dust two 10- by 14-inch baking sheets with flour. Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece to the size of the baking sheets (the dough should be less than 1/4 inch thick).

5. Place in the center of your oven, and immediately turn the heat down to 250°F. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven. Working with one sheet at a time, turn out onto a large cutting board, and cut into 3- to 4-inch squares while the bread is still warm; it will harden quickly as it cools.