Mughlai Legacy · Layered Flatbread
Bakarkhani
Photo: Wasiul Bahar / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Legend credits its name to a doomed Mughal-era romance — a military commander named Baker Khan is said to have invented the bread while pining for a court dancer named Khani, fusing both their names into one loaf.
Bakarkhani is a thick, dry, faintly sweet flatbread made from refined flour, ghee, and milk, kneaded hard and baked until it turns crisp and flaky rather than soft. Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar, Chankharpul, and Lalbagh neighborhoods have sold it from dedicated bakery counters for generations, often alongside a cup of tea.
Why it's made this way: Its first shop reportedly opened near Lalbagh Fort under Mughal patronage, and the bread has stayed tied to Old Dhaka's identity ever since — a specialty locals still cross the city to buy fresh.
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