Friday, February 6, 2009

BAKING BREAD--- Turkmenistan Tamdor style.















Bread plays a central role in all meals in Turkmenistan. Bread (called Chorik or Naan) is on the table at all meals, and it is expected that everyone eats some of the bread. Eating the bread at the meal offers respect to times of hardship in Turkmenistan’s history when bread was the only thing to eat. The bread is traditionally made in a large mud-walled Tamdor oven seen in the pictures. The photos series shows Mural, one of the women we live with, making the bread. Mural bakes bread every Saturday so that the family has bread for the week.

Preparing the dough

Heating the Tamdor by burning cotton plant branches (find in excess in T-stan after cotton season is over).

Placing the dough on the walls of the Tamdor. Hot coals in the center of the Tamdor heat the walls of the Tamdor so that the bread cooks from the heat from the walls and the heat from the center coals. Turkmen women make it look easy--- it isn't.

Cooling the Chorik/ Naan

2 comments:

His wife, Bonnie said...

My goodness, how impressive, what makes the little circles on the bread? What does it taste like?

Daletuck said...

OK, that is cool. I'm ready to make a clay oven now.