Narrator: Every day, Uzbek bakers hand-roll
and stamp 8,000 loaves of bread.
Shaped like wheels, these loaves are dense and chewy,
with a golden crust and an airy crumb.
Weighing in at 1.5 kilos, they're often eaten in groups
and shared around the dinner table.
While you can find countless varieties of these breads
across Uzbekistan, the most legendary loaves
are baked in the city of Samarkand.
Here, bread is sacred and made with the utmost care.
Narrator: We visited Samarkand to see
how these loaves are made
and what it takes to bake such big batches.
Making these loaves begins
by combining 62 kilograms of flour,
water, salt, and yeast into a mechanical mixer.
After about 40 minutes, the dough is taken out,
kneaded, and left to rise for four hours.
The dough is then cut into 1.5-kilo balls,
which are then left to rest and rise
for another hour and 20 minutes.
Narrator: One bowl is 3 1/2 times the weight
of an average American loaf of bread.
Once the dough has risen, it is ready to be shaped.
This is where master bread maker Davronov Okhun comes in.
He has been making bread for eight years
and can make 600 loaves a day during his 12-hour shift.
Narrator: Similar to scoring bread before baking,
workers use needle-tip manpas to create small punctures
in the center of the loaf.
When the bread is cooked,
steam is able to escape from these holes
and prevent the center from rising.
But there's more behind these scores than just function.
These patterns are also decorative
and are used as a way for bakers to add their signature.
Once a loaf has been rounded and stamped,
sesame seeds are pressed into the center of the bread.
Narrator: While the bread waits,
giant tandoor ovens are heated.
Once hot, they're sprayed with water
and brought down to a more ideal temperature.
Keeping the oven at the right temperature
is done entirely by feel,
and it is one of the most important parts
of the baking process.
Narrator: Before the bread is slapped inside the oven,
bakers rub a small amount of water on the bottom of the loaf
so it can better stick to the walls of the tandoor.
Using a cloth to clutch the bread,
bakers dive headfirst into the oven,
sticking loaf after loaf
until every square inch of the oven is filled.
But this acrobatic baking doesn't come without risk.
Narrator: While falling into an oven is rare,
bakers must be incredibly accurate with their aim and stick.
One false move and they could lose a loaf,
or worse, they could burn themselves.
Each of these ovens can fit around 56 large loaves
or up to 72 small ones at a time.
Because of the oven's high temperature,
these breads only need a few minutes to cook.
When the core is crisp and the sides have puffed,
the bread is ready to be scooped out.
Unlike conventional ovens used in the West,
tandoor ovens retain heat for longer periods of time
and require less fuel.
The use of vertical ovens like these
is believed to come from the Semitic peoples
who spread across the Middle East and Central Asia.
Relics of these ovens have been dated to 5050 BCE.
Narrator: Once baked, the breads are loaded
onto delivery trucks and driven to the local bazaar.
Here, locals can shop for produce
and pick up this legendary bread for about $1 to $2,
depending on its weight.
Narrator: Because of its unmatched taste,
legend has it that the air of Samarkand
is what gives this bread its unique texture and flavor.
Beyond its distinct taste, this bread is also symbolic.
Giant loaves are often split in half
during wedding ceremonies
to symbolize the unity between families,
and Uzbek children are often taught
to pick up bread from the floor
so that a single crumb never goes to waste.
Fresh-baked bread is typically savored with butter and jam.
And after a few days,
the firmer loaves are broken into chunky bits
for dipping in hot soups and gravy.
Luckily, Samarkand's breads have a long shelf life
and can last up to 10 days.
So if you ever need one sent by mail
or plan to travel for an extended period of time,
this might be the best bread for you.
Thanks for watching.
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and go watch our previous episodes of "Big Batches"
at the world's largest community kitchen in India.