Giant Iranian breads and the best Napoleon cakes in Toronto
One of my favourite memories of Iran is the morning buzz at bakeries, churning out piles of barbari and the customers that lug these unwieldy breads. I am fortunate to be able to re-live that memory in Toronto, albeit in more sterile conditions.
There are only a couple of Iranian bakeries in Toronto. Garni Bakery is the best place for barbari (نان بربری). Barbari is a giant wheat flour bread measuring about 70 cm by 30 cm, with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. The dough has large and uneven air pockets like Italian focaccia, which gives it its pillowy texture. The other place I know that makes this is Khorak Supermarket.
It might surprise most that European pastries are quite popular in Tehran. Naturally, Garni Bakery has those too. In fact, they don’t make any traditional Iranian shirini (sweet confections).
