Chorek (Bread)

I think if you ever proposed the idea of the Atkins diet to an Azeri they would probably propose the idea of death. Bread is a life source for people here. Everyone loves bread. It’s like air or water. If it could be a scientific element it would be because for Azeris, bread is essential to existence. It is eaten at every meal. For breakfast, it’s bread with butter and a salty cheese. For lunch, bozbash (a meat based broth with potatoes, onions, and greens) and bread. For dinner, same as lunch with more bread. Even if there is already a starch, such as rice or potatoes, there is still a large quantity of bread on the table. NEVER throw away bread in front of an Azeri. NEVER. It would be the greatest insult to injury. Basically, you’re telling them that you don’t appreciate life itself, because if you are following this bread=life. When the going got rough here, bread was pretty much the only thing that people had to eat so it’s a sign of incredible wastefulness if you throw it away. One time in Saray, at my old host family’s during PST, I held on to a piece of bread for a week until it went moldy just waiting to throw it in the trash without them noticing. And so you ask, what do they do with the bread they don’t finish? And in response I ask you this, What bread don’t they finish? Was there ever uneaten rice at my grandparents’? No. It doesn’t exist. Azeris buy at least one fresh loaf of bread every single day. A LOAF. EVERY.SINGE.DAY. Atkins diet? Death, zehmet olmasa (please). The thing that gets me (and this is a recurring conversation between me and Jade-dir) is if a country LOVES bread as much as they do here, couldn’t they have come up with better bread? Clearly, healthy eating is not a priority here so wheat with whole grains is not something that will happen soon in this country, but how about a nice batard or baguette or even a delicious naan? I feel like that could easily be made here. There is some variety of bread (one of which I must admit I do enjoy quite a bit but it’s not the go-to bread which baffles me. Just baffles me.)

“Factory Bread” These big round heaps of dough are the usual fare sitting on the typical Azeri dining table. They cost between 20-30 qepik. They taste like nothing. They’re dense and expand in your stomach. Can be exponentially improved if toasted but of course, that doesn’t happen often. They’re purpose is to clean and soak up all the oil on your plate so washing dishes with a real sponge is a lot easier. I only use it for bruschetta and bread pudding.



“Tandir” This is their best bread. It is like a naan. A bit crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. If I could, I would only eat this for two years.



“Lavash”
This is their flat bread. Not unlike a tortilla.

“Factory-Tandir Cross Bread”
This is what my family usually buys. It’s wider and flatter like the Tandir but it doesn’t have that outside crunchiness as much. Decent. I mean I eat it but what choice do I have anyways right?