The ceremony of baking nan-e Abbas Ali (Abbas Ali bread) has been held since about 200 years ago in Aran va Bidgol County, especially in its desert areas, in order for local people to keep their vows during Muharram, particularly on the ninth day of Muharram.
Nan-e Abbas Ali has always been valued by the natives of the region due to its sanctity among them.
In the past, nan-e Abbas Ali was baked on the eighth day of Muharram and shared solely on Tasu’a (the ninth day of Muharram) with the participants in the mourning ritual performed for the death of the martyrs of Karbala, especially Abbas ibn Ali, the brother of Imam Hussein, the third Shiite Imam. This is why it is known as nan-e Abbas Ali.
This bread is mostly made by women and in a completely traditional way. To prepare this bread, they first pour a certain amount of sifted wheat flour into a special tub (taghar), which is often made of clay or plastic.
To speed up the bread fermentation process, they add some dough, which is prepared before (at least one week earlier), to the existing dough. It almost acts as baking soda, with the difference that it does not have the side effects of baking soda.
Then, they add a sufficient amount of sugar to the dough to give a sweet taste to the bread. The sugar’s weight is recommended to be about one-third of the weight of the flour used.
Then, they add water and knead the dough for 20 minutes. In the next step, they add some spice (turmeric) or saffron and go on kneading for another 10 minutes.
At this stage, they add milk to the dough. The weight of the milk should be one-sixth of the flour’s weight. Now, they mix the dough with some native chicken eggs and some oil (preferably animal oil) and continue to knead for about half an hour. The recommended amount of oil is about 350 grams per 6 kg of flour.
Then, they leave the prepared dough in the container for about one hour until it completely rises. The container is usually covered with a cloth at this stage.
Then, they make dough balls and add a sufficient amount of portulaca or sesame seeds to them. This way, the taste and health benefits of the bread improve. After that, the bread is baked in either traditional or industrial ways.
It is worth mentioning that a significant amount of nan-e Abbas Ali is prepared by home bakeries that use firewood gathered by young people. Nan-e Abbas Ali is sometimes served with the traditional halva of Aran va Bidgol.
