Spiced pastries and flatbreads are the draws at L.A.'s next great bakery

"Breads of many shapes sit in a row on the front counter at three-week-old Kouzeh Bakery, on display behind glass. My eye goes first to a thin disc propped up on a wooden stand. From several feet away, its sandy color and moonscape surface bring to mind a 13th century copper astrolabe that I fixated on at the also-just-opened David Geffen Galleries at LACMA less than a mile away."

"Up close, I read that it was latir, a leavened flatbread that originated in Yazd, a central desert province in Iran that once connected the ancient Spice and Silk Roads. Every baker seasons theirs differently. Pastry chef Sahar Shomali, Kouzeh's owner, sprinkles her version with black and white sesame seeds, cumin and fresh dill. Soon, I'd be ripping into its crisped edges and softer, pebbled center."

"Next to the latir is ghelefi, a mounded loaf filled with turmeric-stained mashed potatoes and baked in a pan until the top is crackly. Fenugreek and caraway seeds, fragrant and crunchy, crown plush rolls called kopou. Fennel, cumin, coriander and black pepper perfume sistani, another round flatbread with barley mixed into the wheat flour for a nutty taste and pliant crumb. Kelaneh resembles a large, folded tortilla flecked green and white with scallions, garlic, cilantro and parsley sauteed in butter."

"These are only some of the savory options. The sweet breads and pastries, scented with saffron, orange blossom water or baking spices, are in a case around the corner to the left. It's been four years since Santa Cruz cookbook author Andrea Nguyen sent me a message about a nascent cottage bakery in Los Angeles she thought might interest me."

Kouzeh Bakery in Los Angeles displays a wide range of breads behind glass, including latir, ghelefi, kopou, sistani, and kelaneh. Latir is a leavened flatbread from Yazd, Iran, seasoned with black and white sesame seeds, cumin, and fresh dill. Ghelefi is a mounded loaf filled with turmeric-stained mashed potatoes and topped with fenugreek and caraway seeds. Kopou are plush rolls crowned with fragrant, crunchy spices. Sistani is a round flatbread made with barley mixed into wheat flour for a nutty taste. Kelaneh is a folded, tortilla-like bread flecked with scallions, garlic, cilantro, and parsley sautéed in butter, alongside sweet breads scented with saffron and orange blossom water.

Read at Los Angeles Times