Taftan

Ingredients

• 3 cups maida (all-purpose flour)
• 1 tsp khameer (instant yeast)
• 2 tbsp cheeni (sugar)
• ½ tsp namak (salt)
• ½ cup doodh (full-fat milk) (Warm, for the dough)
• 2 pieces anday ki zardi (egg yolk) (Adds richness and helps the golden colour)
• 2 tbsp tel ya ghee (oil or ghee)
• ¼ tsp zafran (saffron) (Bloomed in 3 tablespoons of warm milk)
• ¼ tsp elaichi powder (cardamom powder)
• 2 tbsp khashkhash (poppy seeds) (For topping — essential to taftan's identity)
• ¼ cup neem garam paani (lukewarm water) (For activating yeast)

Instructions

1. BLOOM THE SAFFRON: In a tiny bowl, add the saffron strands to 3 tablespoons of warm milk. Let it steep for 20 minutes minimum. The milk should turn a warm orange-gold colour. HINT: If you are using very fresh, good-quality saffron, it will colour the milk within minutes and smell heavenly — like honey and hay mixed together. Poor-quality saffron colours slowly and smells of nothing. FUN FACT: Taftan's golden colour was historically a sign of luxury — saffron was worth more than gold by weight in medieval Persia. A bread that could afford saffron was a bread of status.
2. ACTIVATE YEAST: Combine the lukewarm water, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Leave 8–10 minutes until foamy. Taftan's enriched dough needs a properly activated yeast start — the egg yolks and fat in the dough can slow yeast activity slightly.
3. MAKE THE DOUGH: In a large paraat, combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, and cardamom powder. Add the yeast mixture, warm milk (not the saffron milk), egg yolks, oil or ghee, and half the saffron milk. Mix and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, silky, and elastic. The dough should be soft — softer than regular naan dough — and have a faint yellow tinge from the egg yolks and saffron. HINT: Taftan dough should feel velvety. If it tears when you stretch a small piece, knead for another 2 minutes.
4. FIRST RISE: Oil a bowl, place the dough inside, cover with a damp cloth. Leave in a warm place for 1–1.5 hours until doubled. The dough may take slightly longer than plain dough because the fat and egg inhibit yeast slightly — be patient. WHY: A full rise is important for taftan's soft, tender crumb. Under-risen dough will give you a dense, tough bread that does not do justice to those expensive saffron strands.
5. PREHEAT: Set your oven to 220°C (430°F). Place a baking stone or heavy upside-down tray on the top rack. Heat for 30 minutes. WHY: A hot baking surface is especially important for taftan — you want the bottom to cook fast, keeping the interior soft while the top gets just a little colour. Too low a temperature and the taftan bakes slowly, drying out.
6. SHAPE: Punch down the risen dough and divide into 5–6 portions. On a lightly floured chakla, roll each portion into an oval shape about 20–22cm long and 6–8mm thick. Taftan is slightly oval — not round — like a long teardrop. It should be thinner than sheermal but a touch thicker than a regular naan.
7. TOP WITH POPPY SEEDS AND SAFFRON MILK: Brush the top of each shaped taftan with the remaining saffron milk. Then scatter a generous pinch of poppy seeds over the surface and press them in lightly with your palm or the flat of your hand. The saffron milk as a glaze, combined with the speckling of poppy seeds, is the defining visual of taftan — you should be able to identify it immediately in a bakery window. HINT: Use enough poppy seeds that the surface is well-speckled, not just lightly dusted.
8. BAKE: Slide the taftan onto the preheated surface in the oven. Bake for 5–7 minutes until the top is golden — darker than sheermal, lighter than bakarkhani. The bread should have puffed slightly (but not dramatically like a naan) and the surface should be dry and golden. The poppy seeds should look toasted. FUN FACT: In Iranian bakeries, taftan is baked in enormous clay ovens called 'tanur' — the Iranian cousin of the Pakistani tandoor. The bread is slapped onto the interior walls, just like naan. Home oven versions are less dramatic but taste nearly as good.
9. BRUSH AND REST: Remove from the oven and brush once more with any remaining saffron milk or a little melted ghee. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving — unlike naan, taftan benefits from resting briefly, which allows the steam inside to distribute evenly and the crust to soften slightly.