Shor goghal is a layered, flaky bread with a savoury (or sometimes sweet) filling butter, salt, and spices. It is a popular snack and tea accompaniment in Azerbaijan.
What is Shor Goghal?
Shor goghal ("shor" = salty/savoury) is a layered, round bread: thin layers of dough are spread with butter and salt (and sometimes spices like cumin or fennel), then stacked or coiled and baked until flaky and golden. It can be purely savoury (butter and salt) or have a light spice. It is a snack or tea bread less sweet than sweet goghal and often eaten for breakfast or with tea.
How do you eat Shor Goghal?
Shor goghal is broken into pieces and eaten with tea or as a snack. It is flaky and buttery good with cheese or on its own. Serve at room temperature. It is casual food, often from a bakery or home kitchen.
What makes Shor Goghal different from sweet Goghal?
Sweet goghal has a filling of sugar, spices, and sometimes nuts it is a Novruz sweet. Shor goghal is savoury: butter, salt, and optional spices, no sugar. So: shor = salty/savoury, layered; sweet goghal = sweet, spiced, often for Novruz.
The Ultimate Salty-Sweet Ritual
If you want to eat Shor Goghal exactly like a local from Baku, you must master the tea-dipping ritual. Azerbaijanis love extreme flavor contrasts. The absolute best way to eat this heavily spiced, salty pastry is to brew a glass of strong black tea, add two large cubes of sugar to make it very sweet, and dip the salty Shor Goghal directly into the hot, sweet tea. The combination of the savory butter, salt, fennel, and sweet tea is highly addictive!
The Spice Armor (Nigella Seeds)
You can instantly tell a salty Shor Goghal apart from a sweet one by looking at its crust. While sweet Goghal is usually topped with white sesame seeds or poppy seeds, the savory Shor Goghal is heavily glazed with egg yolk and crusted with black cumin (Nigella seeds, known locally as "chorek otu"). These black seeds roast in the oven and provide a sharp, peppery crunch.
