Barbari bread substitutes

The best all-round match. Ciabatta is made from a wet dough with a long rise, which gives exactly the large irregular holes and chewy, slightly stretchy crumb that barbari has, wrapped in a thin crisp crust.

Best for

Persian breakfast with feta, walnuts and herbs, dunking in aash or soup, eating with butter and honey, sandwiches, toasting

Crumb and crust are genuinely close. What is missing is the glazed sheen barbari gets from its flour-and-water wash, the seeds, and the flatter shape, which means each bite gives you more crumb and less crust than barbari does. Split it horizontally, brush the cut side with a little oil, press on sesame seeds and toast it cut side down. That gets you most of the way.

Right shape, right open crumb, and it already comes as a long flat slab with dimples, which is visually close to barbari's grooves.

Best for

serving at the table, soaking up stew, cheese and herbs, quick availability

Focaccia carries far more oil than barbari, and most shop-bought versions are salted heavily and studded with rosemary or olives. Next to a plain feta-and-walnut breakfast that richness dominates, and the herbs are simply wrong for Persian food. Buy the plainest one you can find, and if it is very oily, warm it in the oven on a rack so some of the oil drains off.

The nearest relative in the same family of breads: a long or oval flatbread, dimpled, glazed and usually scattered with sesame and nigella seeds.

Best for

matching barbari's look and seeds, breakfast, serving whole at the table, authentic substitution

Almost the same idea, with a softer crust and a slightly tighter, fluffier crumb, so it is more pillowy and less chewy than barbari and it does not shatter when you bite it. Ramazan pidesi in particular is very close. If your grocer sells this, it is the substitution to make.

A reasonable option that gets the crisp crust right, and it is available everywhere.

Best for

breakfast with cheese, dipping, toasting, when there is no Middle Eastern bakery nearby

The crust is excellent and arguably crisper than barbari's. The crumb is the problem: a baguette is tighter and leaner, so it does not have the same soft chew and it absorbs less. It is also much narrower, so a slice gives you a small piece rather than a proper mouthful. Split it lengthways and toast the cut faces.

The convenience answer. Split each pita into two rounds and toast them until crisp so they at least stand up to dipping.

Best for

scooping, very quick breakfasts, supermarket availability, kabab wraps

This is a much bigger compromise than it looks. Pita is thin with almost no crumb, so if you are dunking it into aash or piling it with feta it collapses and you lose the entire point of barbari, which is soft interior bread. Fine as a scoop, poor as a substitute.

Good chew, good blistering, widely stocked, and it reheats well in a dry pan.

Best for

chewy texture, eating with stew, reheating, supermarket availability

Naan is enriched with yogurt or milk and often brushed with ghee, so it is softer, richer and slightly sweet where barbari is lean and bready. It also has a soft crust rather than a crisp one, so you lose the crackle that makes barbari satisfying. Choose plain, never garlic naan.