Bread on the side of the road? “What is that?” This was my question during my first trip to Western Georgia when passing nearby the town of Surami.
We were traveling in a mini-bus and with a set route, we weren’t able to stop at the roadside stands. However, we did stop just a bit down the road at one of the regular-scheduled midway stops.
My first experience with Nazuki wasn’t the greatest.
It was warm but not hot and honestly…quite dry and a bit tasteless. Since I hadn’t seen this bread anywhere in Tbilisi, I was intrigued nonetheless.
The second time, I was at another of the scheduled mini-bus stops and it was much better. Hot from the tome (oven), soft and sweet.
If you are lucky enough to travel through with a private vehicle, make the effort to stop and get a few loaves.
I was lucky enough to get a third chance at tasting this sweet bread, finally from one of the little wooden huts scattered along the road. This time it was AMAZING!!
I love finding ‘hidden gems’ in any country that I travel in. Things that aren’t mainstream, craftsmanship items that are unique to the area, and off the beaten path places that someone on a short vacation might not have time to explore. This is certainly one of the benefits on long term travel.
I was on a mission to discover the story behind this bread on the side of the road
I just had to find out what this sweet, raisin bread was. After doing some research for “Georgian bread on the side of the road” I found that this tasty and unique Georgian bread is called Nazuki (ნაზუქი sweet bread).
I was able to find a few articles about this bread on the side of the road. However, none of them ever explained why it’s significant to the town of Surami. The only explanation I could find was that “Surami and neighboring Khashuri (they say that they have special matsoni (yogurt) there that makes the bread especially good).“
All agree that Nazuki is loved by both locals and tourists alike.
Make your own Nazuki
