Uzbek Lepeshka

Most types of Uzbek lepeshka are baked in specially designed ovens called tandyrs. The tandoor baking method is one of the key factors that contribute to the bread’s unparalleled qualities. The lepeshka reaches readiness in the tandoor within 4 to 8 minutes. They are retrieved from the oven using a special scoop or glove in one hand and a skimmer in the other. Occasionally, during the baking process, a lepeshka may detach from the wall and fall into the ashes. Such bread is considered sacred, with a belief that at that moment, the holy Khizr has entered the house, and the bread is “bowing” to him.

The most common type of Uzbek lepeshka, known as obi-non, is made from a simple dough based on a special sourdough starter used exclusively for this type of bread. It is this starter that largely determines the unique flavor of obi-non. The yeast culture cultivated in this starter is as distinctive as the yeast culture used for Borodinsky bread—meaning no other can serve as a substitute.

To prepare the dough for obi-non, bakers either use a pre-purchased starter or cultivate the necessary yeast culture themselves. According to an ancient recipe, finely chopped onions and sour milk (also made using their own “signature” yeast culture) are added to a thick meat broth, and flour is kneaded into this mixture. After sixteen hours of fermentation, the resulting culture is propagated by diluting it with warm water until a liquid mass is formed. Then, flour is added, water is poured in, and the dough is kneaded. The fermentation time now lasts four to six hours.

Next, water is added based on calculations to knead the dough with the starter, which must ferment for another forty minutes before shaping the lepeshkas. In subsequent batches, the starter from the previous preparation is used, refreshed at least once every 8 to 10 days. Often, a piece of “ripe” dough from the previous batch, known as khamir-turush, is used as the starter.

Traditionally, the starter is highly revered among Uzbeks and kept in a clean, secluded place. Sitting with one’s feet extended toward it or stepping over it is considered a sin. Some exclusive starter recipes are kept secret by master bakers and passed only to their students.

After fermentation, the dough is divided into equal pieces, shaped into balls, and these balls are then manually formed into lepeshkas. Before placing them in the tandoor, the thin center of the lepeshkas is adorned with a pattern that is pricked with a special tool called chekesh. This is done to prevent deformation during baking. Additionally, the raw lepeshka is always sprinkled with sesame seeds, nigella seeds, cumin, or poppy seeds.

An interesting historical fact is associated with the manual shaping of lepeshkas. In Central Asia, the local population mainly purchased lepeshkas from private home bakers rather than state bakeries. This contradicted the ideological tenets of the time. In the 1970s, the USSR’s Ministry of Food Industry tasked the RosNIH Bread Institute with mechanizing the production of lepeshkas. The institute’s specialists worked for a long time on a machine but ultimately failed to achieve success: lepeshkas could only be shaped by hand. Thankfully, this initiative was eventually abandoned. It’s frightening to consider the consequences that a ban on private lepeshka sales and the introduction of “standardized” lepeshkas in bakeries could have had… Thus, the traditional Uzbek lepeshka has, in a way, protected itself through its very form.

The variety of Uzbek lepeshka is astonishing. In addition to the most common types, such as obi-non and patyr—made from a rich dough with the addition of lamb fat—there are unique varieties that are less commonly baked and may seem “exotic” even to many residents of Uzbekistan. Each region of Uzbekistan boasts its own specific type of lepeshka, found nowhere else, each with its own starter, original preparation technique, and distinctive flavor.

For instance, the lepeshkas known as shirvoy non are made with a starter prepared on a broth of peas and anise. Shirvoy non is considered a dietary and even medicinal bread, renowned for its unique sweet flavor and delicate aroma of anise.

The lepeshkas from Gala-Osiegi, hailing from the village of Gala-Osie near Samarkand, are famous well beyond the Samarkand region. Anyone visiting Samarkand makes it a point to purchase this bread before leaving the city; it has become a cherished tradition. There are over fifteen varieties of this lepeshka, each with its own complex recipe for preparing the starter, which includes fermented cream or whey, finely chopped onions, and sesame oil. Even when stale, this bread retains its remarkably appealing appearance, and when reheated, it regains all its delightful flavors.

The Fergana Valley is celebrated for its delicious layered lepeshkas known as katlama, each layer of which is brushed with oil or sour cream during preparation. There are also lepeshkas made with cracklings called jizzali non, corn flour lepeshkas known as zogora non, herbal infusion lepeshkas called kuk patyr, and many other varieties.

Traditionally, lepeshkas are not cut with a knife but are broken by hand. Moreover, placing the broken pieces of lepeshka “face” down is strictly forbidden by table etiquette, as it is considered disrespectful to the bread.

There is a custom where a traveler leaving their home takes a piece of lepeshka with them, which is kept at home until their return. Additionally, to solidify a marital ritual during engagements, a special bread-breaking ceremony is performed.

Since ancient times, bread in Uzbekistan has been regarded as a divine blessing and is held in high esteem. “Bread is the head of everything.” The traditional Eastern practice of placing a basket of lepeshkas on one’s head—something that is regrettably rarely seen today—stands as a vivid testament to this reverence.