Tandir (Tandoori) Bread / Tendir Choreyi
January 15, 2008
UPDATE: This is my entry to Click, a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri. You can read my dedication to Bri at as well the bloggers’ appeal to support her HERE.
Nothing wrong about it but … honestly, I do crave Tandir Bread sometimes. Tandor or Tandoori as it is better known in the US. Nothing comes close to the taste of fresh bread baked in clay ovens. In Azerbaijan bread is eaten almost with any food, it is always there on the table. I love hot Tandir Bread with white cheese. Try it with fresh herbs on the side. Yum!
On the side note, bread is considered a sacred food in Azerbaijan. It is a symbol of abundance, prosperity. We don’t throw it in a trash can. If you see a piece of bread on the street, you would pick it up and put it aside, somewhere where nobody would step on it. Some people would even kiss it and touch the forehead with it. It’s the sign of respect to bread that feeds us.
Back to Tandir bread now. Although there are many varieties of bread sold in Azerbaijani bakeries, tandir bread is usually preferred over others on special occasions, such as weddings, birthday parties and holiday celebrations. Typically, warm slices of tandir bread are placed next to individual serving plates. Although nothing can replace the flavor of a real tandir bread I ate in Azerbaijan, here in the United States I use the following recipe to bake my favorite bread in my own kitchen. Are you ready to try it too? Here we go. And on’t forget to have fun too!
TANDIR (TANDOORI) BREAD / TENDIR CHOREYI
Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 1 medium bread
INGREDIENTS
1 package (1/4 oz / 7g) dry yeast
1 ½ cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour, plus extra for kneading
1 egg yolk, for brushing
1 teaspoon poppy or sesame seeds (black or white)
1. In a small bowl, mix yeast with water until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add salt and mix well. Gradually add the yeast-water mixture and stir in using your hand until a rough ball forms.
3. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press any loose dough pieces into the ball and knead the dough, punching it down with your fists, folding it over and turning. Knead for about 8-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
4. Shape the dough into a ball and put it back into the large bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap.
5. Leave the dough to rise in a warm spot for about 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in bulk. The dough should look puffy and be soft when poked with a finger.
6. Punch down the dough, then transfer it onto a lightly floured surface.
7. Shape the dough into a ball, and with your hands flatten slightly and stretch it lengthwise. Using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough beginning at one end until you obtain a long flat bread about ½ inch thick (1.27cm), 14 inches long (35cm) and 8 inches (20cm) wide.
8. Carefully transfer the bread onto a non-stick baking sheet, fixing the shape as necessary. Leave the dough to rest on the sheet for another 15 minutes before baking.
9. Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
10. Using a knife, make shallow crosshatching slashes on the bread, 4 from right to left and 4 the opposite way, each at a slight angle. Brush the bread evenly with the egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds.
11. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake the bread for 20-25 minutes, or until it is golden on top and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
NUSH OLSUN!
Entry Filed under: Breads. Tags: azerbaijani bread, azerbaycan choreyi, baked bread, bread, Breads, chorek, home made bread, tandir choreyi, tandoori, tandoori bread, tendir choreyi.
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1.
Asli | January 17, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Farida,
Thanks a million for posting this recipe of tandir bread. I have been waiting for your book to come up, so I could try to make tandir bread by myself :). I still regret that I did not go for the third piece the last time you cooked for us. The recipe does not seem difficult at all even though the outcome is so beautiful. I hope you share the recipe for that delicious lamb & eggplant dish of yours.
2.
Anonymous | January 21, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I have been a lucky participant in Farida’s recipe trials- my family has loved everything we’ve tried- eggplant rolls, sweet & sour chicken, stuffed grapeleaves…the pictures of the bread on this site are making my mouth water, will have to try next! I highly recommend these recipes! Fariba K.
3.
Farida | January 23, 2008 at 6:25 am
Thank you, thank you! I am glad you like my recipes. Enjoy the blog!
4.
jeanp123 | January 23, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Farida,
I can’t wait to try this tandir bread recipe. The photos are very helpful. Keep up the good work!
Jean Patterson
co-author of “Cooking Outside the Pizza Box: Easy Recipes for Today’s College Student
5.
Anonymous | January 24, 2008 at 10:39 am
Wow, I never thought it was so easy! Will definitely try. Farida, thank you for the recipe!! Leyli
6.
Osana | January 24, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Looks delicious. I’ll treat my children with it on weekends.
7.
Anonymous | January 25, 2008 at 4:11 am
Hi, Farida.
I am originally from Baku as well and love Azeri food. I spend significant amount of time browsing blogs, so I am really excited to find your blog and to try these wonderful recipes. Your blog is truly one of a kind and I am definitely adding it to my feeds and favorites.
Good luck and keep up the good work.
8.
shozoda | January 25, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Faridochka,
how I am glad that you have created this wonderfull webside, I red it and enjoyed so much
Thank you, love you Shozoda
9.
Farida | January 29, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Thank you Asli, Fariba, Jean, Leili, Anon., and Shozoda xanum, for your nice words! Enjoy!
10.
Farida | January 29, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Opps, almost forgot
Thank you, Osana!
11.
Murat Buyuran | February 6, 2008 at 7:18 pm
When I came to the US about 9 years ago, the first food I longed for away from home was bread. It is so important in our culture. Tandir Bread is my favorite of all and this recipe excellent. I am lucky to try your wonderful food at home. Thank you so much! Murat.
12.
kp | March 25, 2008 at 10:21 pm
My mouth is watering just looking at the golden bread.
13.
Max | March 26, 2008 at 10:44 am
Wow, this bread looks delicious. It doesn’t look very easy to make, but definitely worthed to try. The instructions look very clear. Thank you for sharing it.
Max
14.
farida | March 26, 2008 at 11:57 am
KP: Welcome to my blog! The crust is what I love the most. Egg yolks work wonders on top of this bread
Max: You are welcome Max! Let me know how it turns out.
15.
violets | March 26, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Hi Farida
This tandoori bread looks so good, I’ve just voted for it on tastespotting.
Vi
16.
Medena | March 27, 2008 at 5:54 am
I know I’m going to try this! Looks great! I can never have enough bread recipes. Great blog!
17.
farida | March 27, 2008 at 11:45 am
Vi: Welcome back! This bread is easy to make. I like it right out of the oven with white cheese and fresh herbs on the side. Yum!
Medena: Thank you for stopping by. Glad you like the recipe. You have a cute blog, too
18.
Jamila | March 27, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Dear Farida,
Thank you very much. When I go to Baku, first of all I want to have tandoori bread. We have an Indian restaurant here and they have tandoori bread in their menu. I am not a fan of Indian food. But for tandoori bread I started to go there. Last time something was wrong with thier bread and I am so glad you shared this recipe with us.
Thank you
19.
farida | March 28, 2008 at 11:37 am
You we welcome, Jamila. I miss real tandoori bread too. Mine is just an imitation although it can’t replace the real thing, but better than nothing. I like Indian naan, too, if that’s what you mean. Sagh ol!
20.
Asli | March 30, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Dear Farida Hanim,
Finally today, I made your tandoori bread! However, I realized that I had only 2 cups of flour and no eggs, so I used 1 cup of wheat flour and yogurt for brushing. It came out really good, and Gorkem liked it, too :P. Also, your tandoori bread reminds me of special bread called pide, which is only baked during Ramadan month in Turkey and was the best thing I remember from my childhood Ramadans in Istanbul.
Thanks again for this recipe,
Asli
21.
Maninas | April 5, 2008 at 4:46 pm
How interesting! I’m really glad I discovered your blog! I love the photos, too!
22.
farida | April 7, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Asli: Glad my bread brings back the sweet memories of Turkish Ramadan days to you.
Maninas: Welcome to my blog. Thank you for your nice words! Please visit again!
23.
KitchenGoddess83 | April 24, 2008 at 7:40 am
That looks amazing Farida, and thank you for the cultural insight too - very interesting.
24.
mahsati | May 26, 2008 at 8:34 pm
salam Farida….i followed to recipe but it didnt come the way its on ur pic?? dont know why?? :(((…i baled for 25 minutes still bread was almost white..when I took it out it was inside cooked but outside (bottom too) very crunchy :(( what was wrong?? My husband buying tandoori bread from indian restaurant i allso love it with feta cheese for breakfast but i homemade is always homemade ..where was my mistake??:(((
25.
farida | May 27, 2008 at 11:02 am
Dear Mahsati, so sorry your bread didn’t turn out the way you wanted. I am thinking what might have caused the problem. Here’s what comes to my mind.
1. Did the dough rise nicely? It really has to rise before it goes in the oven.
2. I mentioned in the recipe that the bread needs to bake for about 25 minutes or until it is golden on top. So, maybe 25 minutes was not enough for your bread and you took it out too early. Each oven is different so times vary.
3. Also make sure the bread is on the middle rack of the oven. If nothing else works and you still have a crust on the bottom and nothing on top, bake the bread on top rack for about 5 minutes or until it is golden on top. It should work.
3. This bread is soft inside but slightly crunchy outside. It is more on a flat side than pluffy.
I don’t know if these answers help or not. Hope they do. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Anything I missed to address? So sorry again. Hope it comes out nicely the next time you bake it!
26.
mahsati | May 29, 2008 at 1:57 am
thank you Farida, Im gonna try again inshAllah, lets see..will let younknow results…Im ur fan, so will be checking out your updates!!!!
27.
Medena | June 17, 2008 at 10:13 am
Making it again!!!! Right now!
Love, love, love this bread!
28.
Mila | June 28, 2008 at 5:31 am
Hi Farida, thank you too much for this recipe. To long I look for this recipe. Your blog is very good!!!
29.
My First Newspaper Interv&hellip | July 17, 2008 at 8:26 pm
[...] soon), Stuffed Eggplants, Peppers and Tomatoes (Badimjan, Biber, Pomidor Dolmasi. Coming soon), and Tandoori Bread (Tendir Choreyi). It was so much fun to work on this project! Apart from being a talented writer, [...]