Matnakash ( hy, մատնաքաշ) is a leavened traditional
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
n bread. The word ''matnakash'' means "finger draw" or "finger pull", referring to the way the bread is prepared. It is made of
wheat flour
Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...
with
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
or
sourdough starter. It is shaped into oval or round loaves with longitudinal or criss-crossed scoring. The characteristic golden or golden-brown color of its crust is achieved by coating the surface of the loaves with sweetened tea essence before baking.
Matnakash is also popular in places with large Armenian populations as a result of the
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...
.
History
Matnakash was honored in
Soviet times
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
. In the 1930s, food specialists in
Soviet Armenia
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
wanted to mark the new communist country with a more modern-looking bread. The matnakash became a mass-produced urban bread. Even the bakers' patterns on the bread were re-interpreted to fit the Soviet agenda. It resembled a plowed field with rows and furrows. The bread's rim was interpreted as an agricultural field and its imprinted lines as tilled rows.
[Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore By Irina Petrosian, David Underwood - Page 35]
See also
*
Barbari bread
Barbari bread () is a type of yeast leavened Iranian flatbread. It is one of the thickest flat breads and is commonly topped with sesame or black caraway seeds. A notable characteristic of the bread is its top skin that is similar to pretzels ...
from Iran
*
Lavash
Lavash ( hy, լավաշ) is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor (''tonir'') or on a ''sajj'', and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is on ...
, a thin unleavened flatbread from Armenia
*
Naan
Naan ( fa, نان, nān, ur, , ps, نان, ug, نان, hi, नान, bn, নান) is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread which is found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, ...
from India and Pakistan
*
Pita
*
Ramadan pita, a similar bread from Turkey
*
Tonis puri
Tonis puri ( ka, თონის პური) is a type of Georgian bread, baked in a specific oven called a ''tone'' or ''torne''. The word is cognate with tandoor. The bread is served as any other bread, but it tends to be more popular on spe ...
from Georgia
*
Manakish
Manakish ( ar, مناقيش, translit=manāqīsh), or in singular form man'ousheh, or other spellings, sometimes called ar, فَطَايِر, translit=faṭāyir, is a popular Levantine food consisting of dough topped with thyme, cheese, or gr ...
from the Levant
*
pizza from Italy
References
{{bread-stub
Armenian breads