Noon Rogani

     Since my blog is about exploring bread, I need to explore bread from other countries.  Sure, I’ve made breads from France, Italy, and Mexico.  The closest I came to the Middle East was pita.  So when I was perusing the King Arthur site I came across a recipe for  Noon Rogani from Azerbaijan*, I had to try it.  As you can see from the photo, the bread is turban shaped.  It is a fairly straight-forward dough that is rolled out to a large square, brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.  As the dough was rising, I went to mix my cinnamon sugar, and I was out of cinnamon.  I ran to the “Libuse Wal-Mart,” aka Dollar General, knowing they have limited groceries, but cinnamon is such a basic spice I was sure they would have it, and they did.  (There I go with one of those marathon sentences.)  Once it had risen, it was time for the fun to begin.  I floured my counter top since it needed to be a 23" square.  Once the square was brushed with the melted butter and sprinkled with the cinnamon sugar, the dough was rolled jelly roll style.  Next, the log had to be rolled into a 5 foot rope.  Heck, I’m only 5'3".   I had a blast making this bread.  I had flour everywhere!  (Have you ever seen Always with Holly Hunter?  You know the scene where she fake makes dinner and throws flour all over the place to make it look like she’s been cooking - okay, it was not quite that bad.)  Once I had my rope I need to twist it “similar to wringing out a towel.”  This was going okay, but then I ran out of arm.  The end I started on wanted to “unwring” itself.  Wayne to the rescue.  I had him hold one end while I continued wringing the dough.  It was then wrapped into the turban, allowed to rise, and baked.  It was a really neat experience, and it turned out rather good.  It has a wonderful bite to the crust with a moist and lightly sweet interior.  I’m sure I will make this again.
     I guess my American palate for sweet would have liked it a little more sugar.  I can see all kinds of options for this.  A little grated citrus rind, mini chips, or some finely chopped pistachios would be a great addition.  I know it will be great with a cup of coffee and chicory.  The Noon Rogani sort of has the flavor of a Prussian.  Okay, so you’re thinking, “Is she talking about eating a German?”  To non-New Orleanians I’m talking about a palmier.  The crust of the bread is crunchy, and it has the same buttery flavor.  It’s not crunchy all the way through like a palmier;  the interior is what you expect from bread.  It’s the perfect bread for a slightly sweet treat.
     Oh, by the way, thanks to my husband for not only playing photographer for me, but for also vacuuming up all the flour.


*This is a link to information about Azerbaijan just in case anyone is curious about the country and it's people.