Perhaps you have visited the many madrassas, minarets, mosques and restaurants around the Old Town of Khiva and now you are looking for something different to do on your vacation. How about a bread-making tour where you actively participate in the ancient art of baking bread?
Having visited Tapas Restaurant the night before, it was suggested to me that a bread-making course in Khiva would be a nice way to experience local customs.
I headed back to Tapas Restaurant in the morning. I was then directed to the Mirza Boshi Teahouse to find the bread-making ingredients waiting for me. I was joined by another traveler and we started off by mixing the milk, flour, salt and yeast into a dough.
Since the yeast needs around 40 minutes to interact with the flour, we were given another ball of dough that had been prepared earlier. We then rolled the dough into a round, flat shape ready to be stamped with a selection of designs.
After stamping the dough with our choice of designs, we headed outside to the ovens for the bread to be baked. The lady took great care to ensure that the bread was placed in the oven, sticking to the sides so that it could be cooked properly.
While standing around the hot oven, we watched the breads being baked and marveled at home someone could work in the heat of the Khiva summer for long periods of time. We also chatted to the tour guides and learned more about life in Khiva and the history of bread making.
After 10 minutes or so, the bread was baked and we headed back into the teahouse. Waiting for us was our bread, along with some tea and some really tasty apricot jam. That turned out to be the best part of the tour, enjoying the freshly-baked bread with the generous serving of jam.
After an hour or so the Khiva bread-making tour was over. It was a fun way to spend the early morning in Khiva before heading out again to explore the Old Town of Ichan Qal’a.
When I was in Khiva, I stayed at Hotel Bankir Khiva, a boutique hotel within five minutes’ walk from the west gate of Ichan Qal’a.
Find Hotel Bankir Khiva on Google Maps.
Otherwise consider other accommodation options in Khiva by clicking in the box below.
Consider reading other posts on Uzbekistan by Two Passports Packed.
(Visited in August 2026)