We are almost to the end of my A to Z International flatbread series and as we get closer to the end, the alphabet becomes hard. I had a little hard time finding a recipe for U and was so glad to find this Uyghur Flatbread, from the Western regions of China. People in the Xinjiang region call bread ‘Nang’ and the official language that these people speak is Uyghur.
A little history about the flatbread -
Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group, mostly of Islam origin, and live in east and central Asia, primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur region of China. They are one of the 55 officially recognized Ethnic minorities. This Nángbĭng is made in the tandoor with flour that has less gluten naturally. This produces very soft bread, no matter how we bake them. It was referred that we could use a combination of all-purpose flour and pastry flour to achieve that, but I stuck to just the APF and a little bit of wheat flour in the recipe. The rest of the recipe is pretty similar to any leavened flatbread, except this goes through a 3-cycle rise. That gives the Uyghur Flatbread, a very wonderful flavor. The Nángbĭng can vary in size from a few inches to about a foot wide. It has distinct markings in the center using bread stamps. The bread not just gives the design but also pricks the dough, so they don’t rise during baking. I used a combination of cookie cutter and fork to create some patterns on the bread. Once the dough goes through the rises, it takes just a few minutes to make. Since I don’t have a Tandoor at home, I used the pizza stone to create a somewhat similar atmosphere. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an inverted baking sheet to bake. I used sesame seeds on my bread as the topping, but you could use sesame, nigella, or any spice on the bread. Preparation time - 10 minutes plus about 2 ½ hours of resting timeBaking time - 10 to 12 minutesDifficulty level - easyRecipe adapted from - here and here B for Boulanee Katchalu C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca D for Dhal Puri E for Emirati Khameer F for Fruit Focaccia G for Gozleme H for Himbasha I for Indian Fry Bread J for Janta Roti K for Ka’ak L for Lepinja M for Mahjouba N for Norwegian Crisp Bread O for Onion and Poppy Seed Pletzel P for Pol Roti Q for Qutab R for Roomali Roti S for Samoon T for Taftan bread
Ingredients to make Uyghur Flatbread - Makes one 9-inch flatbread
All Purpose flour - 1 cup Whole wheat flour - ½ cup Active dry yeast - 1 tsp Sugar - 1 tsp Salt - 1 tsp Water - ½ cup to ¾ cup Oil - 1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp Sesame seeds - to sprinkle on top
Procedure to make Nángbĭng -
To make the dough -
Measure half a cup of warm water and add the sugar and the yeast to it. Mix well and let the yeast proof for about 10 minutes or until bubbly and frothy.
In a wide bowl, measure the flour and add the salt. Add the proven yeast along with 1 tablespoon of oil and start kneading.
Sprinkle a little warm water if the dough is too stiff. Keep kneading until the dough is soft and smooth and not sticky. Takes about 7 to 8 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise for about an hour or until doubled in volume.
Once the dough has risen for the first time, punch it down and knead it gently and again place it in a greased bowl to go through a second round of rising.
To shape and bake the Uyghur Flatbread -
Preheat the oven to 500 F with a pizza stone inside.
Once the dough has gone through two rounds of rising, place it on a work surface and roll it or pat it into a thick circle.
Keep the thickness of the dough even throughout as it helps in even baking.
I placed mine on parchment paper that I placed on a pizza peel, which will later be easy for me to slide onto the pizza stone for baking.
Cover the dough and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, slightly roll the edges up to create a thicker edge.
Make deep patterns in the center with a dough stamp or I used a cookie cutter and a fork to create mine.
Brush the top with oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Slide the parchment along with the shaped dough onto the pizza stone.
Let the bread bake until golden brown evenly.
Remove the Nángbĭng from the oven and cool slightly before slicing and serving.
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