07/07/2025
𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙠 (𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙜)
Buried Treasure of Armenian Breadmaking
Hidden beneath the fertile soil of Armenian highlands lies a culinary secret passed down through generations. A traditional buried cheese bread that embodies resilience, ingenuity, and the deep-rooted connection between Armenians and their land.
Purnik is not just a type of bread, it is a time-honored tradition, deeply symbolic of Armenian rural life and the ancestral need to preserve food in harmony with nature. It is a type of stuffed flatbread filled with aged or buried cheese, mixed with herbs, then baked inside tonir clay oven. Traditionally, purnik was buried underground and aged for months, sometimes up to a year, before it is finally consumed. The result is a dense, flavorful, slightly fermented bread with a strong aroma.
The roots of Purnik go back centuries, particularly in mountainous regions of Western Armenia, such as Mush and Sassoun, where long winters and difficult terrain made food preservation essential. Before modern refrigeration, villagers had to find ways to store nutritious, ready-to-eat foods. Thus, Purnik was a clever combination of fresh village cheese and flour, sealed in earth, naturally fermented by the moisture and temperature of the ground.
Each region has its own variation, but the traditional steps usually include:
▪️Preparation of dough. A stiff dough is made from wheat flour, water, and a little salt.
▪️Cheese filling. Typically with aged or burried cheese (commonly motal or kanach panir, green cheese).
▪️Chopped herbs. The herbs are mix of mountain urz (wild thyme), dzndziruk (wild mint), chamel (local tarragon), green onions.
▪️Cheese is spread on the dough, folded tightly like a bag and pressed, then baked inside tonir clay over.
▪️Burial process. The bread is buried 50–100 cm deep in cool and dry soil, where it is left for several months to develop flavor and preserve naturally.
Today, in the Armenian diaspora, particularly among families from Western Armenia, Purnik serves as a nostalgic bridge to ancestral lands. In some villages of the Syunik or Lori regions in modern Armenia, the tradition is still kept alive.
Purnik is a flavorful reminder of Armenia’s rural soul, a humble bread that tells the story of hardship, survival, and love for homeland. It is an edible time capsule that links past to present, offering a taste not just of cheese and dough, but of history, memory, and identity.
After the Armenian Genocide, survivors from Mush brought their Purnik recipes to Eastern Armenia (Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Artsakh), also Javakhk, Lebanon, and Syria. For many in the diaspora, Purnik is a food of longing and memory, a taste of a lost homeland.
🎥 Peproneh Badalyan
