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Uzbek bread (obi-non, lepyoshka)
It is impossible to imagine daily ration of Uzbek people without one gastronomical wonder: hot tandyr bread which has a  uniquely and nutritious taste as well as never tiring of. Everyone who tastes a piece of this bread once falls in love with it for his whole life. And how strong do Uzbeks miss it when they are abroad! But what do we know about this beneficial bread, except that it is astonishingly tasty and there is nowhere like this? What is its secret?
There is a legend according to which having tasted a delicious Samarkand bread a Bukhara emir ordered to bring the best baker of Samarkand and told him to prepare the similar pieces of bread in Bukhara. The baker fulfilled the order, but the taste of ready bread turned out different from Samarkands ones. When an angry emir called the baker to account, the latter for his justification said: There is no Samarkands air here
Here the role of the air, of course, is exaggerated, but the grain of truth is present. Except skilled observance of a unique traditional technology of preparing Uzbek bread, the mastery of a baker depends on the place where he works as well as how well he could adapt himself in the course of time to local water, flour, climate, oven..
Most of bread types are baked in the ovens of special construction called tandyr. Tandyr baking is one of the pawnings of achieving unique qualities of bread. Bread is ready in 4-8 minutes in tandyr, which is then taken from the oven with a special scoop or mitten in one hand and with a skimmer on the other.
 The most widespread sort of Uzbek bread is called obi-non, which is made from simple dough on the basis of particular ferment, which is prepared for this type of bread. Exactly does it determine mostly a unique taste of obi-non. Fermentation particles, which are multiplied in this ferment, are also unique to every sort of bread and cant be changed to another.
Obi-non.
To make the dough of obi-non either fermentation is obtained in advance and used or fermentation particles are prepared by bakers themselves. According to an old recipe sour milk, that is made by special fermentation and fine cut onion are added to the thick meat broth and flour is blended to this mixture. After sixteen hours of fermentation obtained paste is multiplied by adding warm water until it becomes attenuated. Then flour and water are added and mixed. This time the duration of fermentation is four-six hours.
Later adding water with account ferment is added to the dough, which should ferment for another forty minutes. After that the loaves of bread can be formed. In the following preparation of dough the previous ferment is used, which is renewed at least once in 8-10 days. Often a ready piece of dough of the previous preparation is used as a ferment, which is called khamir turush.
Traditionally ferment is much esteemed and kept in a clean and secluded place. It is considered as sin to turn up ones toes in  its direction or to step it over. Some exclusive recipes of fermentation are kept on secret by master bakers and handed over only to their apprentices.
After fermentation dough is divided into equal pieces of spherical form by hand and directly from these spheres bread is shaped. Before putting them to tandyr thin centre of the bread is pinned down and dotted with tracery with a special instrument called chekish. This is done so that a piece of bread should not be deformed during baking. Also uncooked bread is powdered with the seeds of sesame, Nigella, caraway and poppy.
There is an interesting fact related with the formation of bread by hand. Population of Central Asia usually bought bread made in private house bakeries but not a state standard loaf of bread. This contradicted the ideological directions of that time. So in 1970s the Ministry of food industry of the former USSR set the task of mechanization of bread production to Russian scientific research institute. The specialists of the institute worked long on a machine, but did not achieve a success; the formation of national bread was possible only by hand. Thanks to God later that plan was abandoned. It is frightful to imagine what it could have led if the trade of national bread were prohibited and the production of standard loaves of bread were introduced Thus, traditional Uzbek bread once defended itself with its form.
The multiformity of Uzbek bread is striking. Except widespread obi-non and patyr made from short pastry with adding sheeps fat. There are other unique sorts which are baked rarely and therefore seem exotic even to many residents of Uzbekistan. At the same time Uzbekistans each region can be proud of its own sort of bread, which can be found only there. And each of them has its special ferment, its original technology of preparation and a unique taste.
Decorative, fancy bread
Thus, for bread called shirmoy-non ferment is prepared on pea-anise broth. Shirmoy-non is believed to be dietetic and also  medicinal bread having original sweetish taste with tender aroma of anise.
Samarkand bread is very popular in Uzbekistan. Everyone who has been to the city tries to buy this bread when leaving Samarkand; it has become a tradition. There are almost fifteen sorts of it. Each of them has its own rather complex recipe of ferment preparation on the basis of over fermented cream and buttermilk with addition of small cut onion and sesame oil. Even when it is stale this bread keeps its uniquely alluring form, while being soaked restores its taste.
Samarkand bread.
Ferghana valley is famous for its delicious foliated bread katlama, each layer of which is oiled with butter and sour cream.
There are also sorts of bread with cracklings jizzali non, with corn meal zoghora non, with herbal extract patyr and many others.
Traditionally Uzbeks do not cut the bread, but break it by hand. At the same time putting broken pieces of bread facing down is strongly prohibited by table etiquette; this is considered as disrespectful attitude to bread.
There is a tradition according to which the traveler who is leaving his home for a long time, eats a piece of bread. The rest of this bread is kept at home until his safe return. There is also a special tradition of breaking bread during engagement ceremony to fix marriage ritual.
Since olden days bread is considered as divine benediction and extremely respected. Bread is the head of everything. And the traditional imposition of basket of bread on the head is the vivid example of it.
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