Matnakash
Encyclopedia
Matnakash is a traditional soft Armenia
n bread. The word matnakash literally means finger draw or finger pull, referring to the way the bread is prepared.
Matnakash is made of wheat flour with yeast or sourdough starter. It is shaped into oval or round loafs with longitudinal or criss-crossed scoring. The characteristic golden or golden-brown color of its crust is achieved by coating the surface of the loaves with sweetened tea essence before baking.
Matnakash, along with lavash
, a thinner Armenian bread, can be purchased from numerous bakeries in Armenia
as well as places with large Armenian populations as a result of the Armenian diaspora
.
. In the 1930s, food specialists in Soviet Armenia
wanted to mark the new communist country with a more modern looking bread. The matnakash became a mass-produced urban bread. Even the bakers' patterns on the bread was re-interpreted to fit the soviet agenda. It resembled a plowed field with rows and furrows. The bread's rim was interpreted as an agricultural field and its imprinted lines as tilted rows.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n bread. The word matnakash literally means finger draw or finger pull, referring to the way the bread is prepared.
Matnakash is made of wheat flour with yeast or sourdough starter. It is shaped into oval or round loafs with longitudinal or criss-crossed scoring. The characteristic golden or golden-brown color of its crust is achieved by coating the surface of the loaves with sweetened tea essence before baking.
Matnakash, along with lavash
Lavash
Lavash is a soft, thin flatbread popular in several countries of the northern parts of the Middle-East and the southern parts of the Caucasus.Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a clay oven....
, a thinner Armenian bread, can be purchased from numerous bakeries in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
as well as places with large Armenian populations as a result of the Armenian diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
.
History
Matnakash was honored in Soviet timesHistory of the Soviet Union
The history of the Soviet Union has roots in the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, emerged as the main political force in the capital of the former Russian Empire, though they had to fight a long and brutal civil war against the Mensheviks, or Whites...
. In the 1930s, food specialists in Soviet Armenia
Armenian SSR
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet...
wanted to mark the new communist country with a more modern looking bread. The matnakash became a mass-produced urban bread. Even the bakers' patterns on the bread was re-interpreted to fit the soviet agenda. It resembled a plowed field with rows and furrows. The bread's rim was interpreted as an agricultural field and its imprinted lines as tilted rows.