ADishIndependent states
Nakhchivan lavash
Paper-thin bread baked in the tandir and kept for three to four months as "winter bread". Lavash culture has been UNESCO heritage since 2016.
Lavash is one of the oldest breads, and in Nakhchivan it has become the region's signature. Here bread is also called "eppek", a local form of the old Turkic word "etmek" found in the Book of Dede Korkut.
Elsewhere bread was baked to last a few days, but in Nakhchivan lavash was made to keep for three to four months. In autumn families baked whole sacks of flour for the winter — what people call "winter bread".
Baking lavash is a custom of neighbourly help. A day is chosen and neighbours gather: one shapes the dough, the rollers roll it thin with a long pin and leave their own mark, and the baker slaps it onto the tandir wall with a cushion. Helpers are thanked with hot bread and a meal.
"Flatbread making and sharing culture: Lavash, Katyrma, Jupka, Yufka" was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 on a joint nomination by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye.
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Updated: October 1, 2026