“Bread is a staple in Iran, second solely to rice,” Cody Ma says, who, alongside together with his companion Misha Sesar, runs Persian all-day café Azizam, certainly one of our Finest New Eating places of 2024, within the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. “We actually wished to focus on bread from Iran outdoors of lavash, which is why we make each barbari (a crusty, chewy flatbread) and cloud-like shirmal.” Azizam’s shirmal is fluffy and tender because of the inclusion of tangzhong, a cooked milk and flour paste that provides Japanese milk bread its springy texture. Saffron and a pinch of turmeric add a vibrant shade and a subtly candy, honey-like scent.
Whereas this bread is all about its tender, stretchy inside, the outside will get some aesthetic love as properly. You’ll be able to press fairly exhausting along with your bench scraper to imprint the gridded strains on high of the dough ball and guarantee they keep seen post-bake, however don’t slit or minimize into the dough (don’t use a knife!) as that may mess with the completed loaf form. Additionally, be delicate with brushing your dough balls with egg wash—you’ll need to hold the wash on high of the dough reasonably than on the edges the place it’d glue the bread to the parchment paper. If this occurs, don’t fear! Simply gently peel the paper off the underside of the bread and switch it to a baking rack to chill. —Kendra Vaculin, take a look at kitchen editor
