Each village and town has its own variations – with different ingredients, weight, size, thickness, embossed patterns and, of course, names – but almost all are shaped like a wheel.
Gala Osiyo bread – named after the district of Samarkand where it is made – has a reputation for being long-lasting. It is edible for up to three years – it just needs to be sprayed with water and warmed up – and could therefore be taken on long journeys along the ancient Silk Road.
The bread baked in the Fergana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan is known for its intricate designs. This is not surprising, as the area – although not a popular tourist destination – has been a center for arts and crafts for centuries.
In a small bakery in Konigil Tourist Village – a quiet, leafy complex on the outskirts of Samarkand that also houses the Meros paper mill, which runs on water from the Siab River – master baker Hofez Nuritdinnov mixes wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. Then he sets the dough aside to rise for several hours.
Bakers like Nuritdinnov are known as Nonvoy. Their profession is highly respected and skills are passed down from father to son.
Given the many hours and physical strength required to prepare the dough and then bake hundreds or thousands of loaves of bread, notvoy were traditionally men.
However, Nuritdinnov is assisted by his daughter-in-law, Nargiza Shodieva, who is in her early 30s. She cuts the dough into smaller portions and weighs each piece. Then she rolls the dough into balls and places them on a tray to rest.
From another tray, Shodieva takes a ball of dough, places it on the table and shapes it into an almost flat circle with slightly raised sides. Then she uses a pointed tool – a so-called Czech in Uzbek, and a nonpar in Tajik, a language widely spoken in this part of Uzbekistan, it perforates the depression in the center of the formed dough. These depressions allow steam to escape during baking.
Shodieva repeats the process until the entire batch is ready.
At this stage, patterns are imprinted into the bread to distinguish one baker’s products from those of others.
“Patterns were used in the past to make the bread more attractive,” says Fatyan. “They symbolized fertility, wealth or prosperity.”
Nowadays, some breads are stamped with the baker’s personal information, such as his name or even his telephone number.
Shodieva smears the bottom of the shaped dough with water and slaps each piece on the inside of a vertical, wood-fired clay oven known as tandirNext, she carefully squirts some water into the oven.
“Humidity is very important,” explains Anvar Nasimov, a tour guide from Samarkand, to the observing tourists. “It is important for the tandir not be too dry.”
The bread only needs a few minutes to take on a rich, golden color. “(Shodieva) will know when the not is finished depending on the color,” says Nasimov.
Baked not have a crispy base and a thin layer of crust on top. Inside they are soft and fluffy. Samarkand bread usually has a glazed crust and a dense interior, so it is shinier and heavier than, for example, the bread from Tashkent.
The taste of Samarkand bread is inimitable in other parts of the country, even if the ingredients come from the city. Fatyan attributes this to the good air and water in Samarkand.
Not has immense social and cultural significance for the Uzbek people.
“In the past, before a man set out on a long journey, he would take a bite of a loaf of bread and the family would hang the rest of the loaf on the wall and wait for his return,” says Fatyan.
She adds that bread plays an important role in other life events as well. Forty days after birth, a ceremony is held to celebrate the moment the baby is placed in its cradle. “In this ceremony, bread is placed in the cradle as a symbol of wealth and a happy life,” she explains.
When a couple gets engaged, a single loaf of bread is broken and divided between the two families. “From that day on, the two families become one,” says Fatyan.
When visiting someone on a happy occasion, it is tradition for the guest to bring two loaves of bread as a gift, which is a sign of abundance.
“But when you come to visit to express your condolences, you can only bring one loaf of bread because the family is not complete,” says Fatyan. “These numbers are very important.”
It is considered disrespectful to place a loaf of bread face down on the table, and bread is never cut with a knife – it is always torn by hand. Children are taught to pick up bread that has fallen to the floor and set it aside for the birds.
“Bread is so valuable to Uzbeks that they try to save every crumb,” says Toshnazarov.
While Shodieva prepared a table with freshly baked bread for the tourists, Fatir (Fatir Prayer) (a flaky, layered bread), homemade strawberry jam, dates and tea, Fatyan says, “You can’t experience the culture of Uzbekistan without visiting a bakery.”
