Ingredients
Dough
- 800 gstrong white flour
- 16 gsalt
- 8 ginstant yeast
- 500 mlwarm water
- 2 tbspoil, or 40 g melted lamb fat
To finish
- 1egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk
- 2 tbspsesame seeds
- 1 tbspnigella seeds
Equipment
- a chekich, the bread stamp, or a fork
- a tandoor, or a very hot oven with a baking stone
To serve
- green tea
- any main dish
Directions
- Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk them. Add the yeast on the other side of the bowl from the salt. Pour in the warm water and the oil or melted fat. Mix it into a rough shaggy dough.
- Turn it out and knead it for twelve to fifteen minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Put it in an oiled bowl and cover it. Leave it somewhere warm until it has roughly doubled. Shaping the loaves is done in a specific way.
- Divide the dough into four pieces. Shape each piece into a tight ball. Rest them under a cloth for fifteen minutes. Flatten each ball with your hands into a round.
- Press outward from the centre, leaving the rim thicker. The finished round should be about twenty-five centimetres across.
- Press the chekich firmly into the centre. Press right down so the holes go through to the tray. Work outwards in a circle to cover the whole flat centre. Leave a clear rim of about four centimetres unstamped. Brush the whole surface with the egg yolk and milk.
- Scatter sesame and nigella seeds over the stamped centre. Press them in lightly so they do not fall off. The tandoor is heated until its walls are extremely hot. Heat the oven to its maximum with a baking stone inside. Give it a full forty-five minutes to heat properly.
- Bake them for eight to twelve minutes. The rim should puff and colour deeply. Cover it loosely with a cloth as it cools. Never set it face down on the table. Tear it by hand at the table rather than cutting it. It keeps for two days wrapped in a cloth.
Technique
- The stamped centre stays flat while the unstamped rim puffs, which is the shape of the bread.
- Bake in the hottest oven you have, since a cool oven gives a pale dry bread.
- By custom it is torn rather than cut and is never laid face down.
Substitutions
- A fork pressed repeatedly in place of a chekich stamp.
- A heavy baking tray if you have no stone.
Variations
- Enriched with milk and butter, as a festive bread.
- With fried onion worked into the dough.
- Made small, as individual rounds.
History
Round tandoor bread stamped in the centre; it is never cut with a knife or laid face down.
Frequently asked questions
What is Non?
Non is a bread & pastry from Tajikistan: tandoor flatbread treated with reverence, never wasted. Round tandoor bread stamped in the centre; it is never cut with a knife or laid face down.
How long does Non take to make?
Non takes 40 min plus 2 hours rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 flatbreads. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Non?
Yes, within limits. A fork pressed repeatedly in place of a chekich stamp. A heavy baking tray if you have no stone.
What is the most important thing to get right in Non?
Press the chekich firmly into the centre. Press right down so the holes go through to the tray. Work outwards in a circle to cover the whole flat centre. Leave a clear rim of about four centimetres unstamped. Brush the whole surface with the egg yolk and milk.
