Balochi Kaak Recipe

Name: Balochi Kaak
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 3 cups Whole wheat flour (atta); 1 tsp Salt, adjust to taste; ½ tsp Instant yeast, instant; traditionally a piece of old dough (khameer); 1¼ cups Water, lukewarm, add gradually; 1 tbsp Cooking oil, for your hands; 2 tbsp Desi ghee, to brush, optional

بلوچی کاک بنانے کا طریقہ

Balochi kaak: thick wholewheat dough wrapped around a fire-heated stone and baked by the coals until crusty outside and steamy inside, the bread for sajji.

Prep

20 min

Cook

35 min

Marinate / soak

1 hr

Serves

Difficulty

Takes practice

Spice

Mild

Kaak is the bread of Baloch shepherds and the traditional partner for sajji. A smooth river stone is heated in the fire, the dough is wrapped around it like a thick shell, and the stone goes back beside the coals, so the bread bakes from the inside and outside at once. It comes out with a hard, smoky crust, a soft centre and a hollow where the stone was. It is an outdoor, campfire bread; an oven method is given in the FAQ.

Ingredients

4 servings

For 4 servings

Cups & chamachGrams & ml

3 cups Whole wheat flour (atta)≈ 360 g
1 tsp Salt, adjust to taste
½ tsp Instant yeast, instant; traditionally a piece of old dough (khameer)
1¼ cups Water, lukewarm, add gradually
1 tbsp Cooking oil, for your hands
2 tbsp Desi ghee, to brush, optional (optional)

Method

Mix the atta, salt and yeast, add the water gradually and knead into a firm but pliable dough, a little stiffer than roti dough. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise slightly.
⏱ 60 min
Meanwhile choose one or two smooth, round river stones about the size of a fist, washed and fully dry. Bury them in a wood or charcoal fire until very hot.
⏱ 40 min
Divide the dough in two and flatten each piece with oiled hands into a thick round, about half an inch thick and large enough to cover a stone.
Pull a stone out of the fire with tongs, brush off the ash, and quickly wrap the dough round it, pinching the edges to seal it completely. Work fast and keep your fingers on the dough, never the stone.
Set the wrapped stone beside the glowing coals, not in the flames, and bake, turning it every few minutes, until the crust is hard, browned and sounds hollow when tapped.
⏱ 30 min
Lift it out, brush off the ash, brush with ghee if you like, and let it cool for a few minutes. Break the bread open and remove the stone before serving.
⏱ 5 min

Tips for the best result

Use only dense, smooth river stones. Porous or layered rocks, or any stone that has been in water recently, can crack or burst in the fire.
Make kaak while the sajji is roasting; both use the same fire and are ready at about the same time.

Common mistakes

Putting the wrapped stone right into the flames. The crust burns black long before the dough near the stone is cooked.
Rolling the dough too thin. Kaak should be thick; thin dough dries into a cracker.

How to serve

Serve warm, torn into pieces, with sajji or balochi rosh and a plain salad.

Storing and reheating

Kaak keeps 2 to 3 days wrapped in a cloth, which is why herders carried it on long journeys. It hardens; warm it near the fire or on a tawa.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories: 330kcal
Protein: 9g
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 67g
Fibre: 11.9g
Sodium: 580mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 16

Whole dish ≈ Rs 63 · 100% of ingredients by weight priced

Prices in

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Balochi Kaak: questions people ask

Can I make kaak in an oven?

Yes. Heat a dry, smooth stone or a small cast-iron ball in the oven at 230°C for 40 minutes, wrap the dough round it as above and bake on a tray for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once. Without a stone, shape thick rounds and bake on a hot tray for 20 minutes.

Why is kaak baked around a stone?

The hot stone cooks the thick dough from the inside while the coals cook the outside, so it bakes through evenly with no oven or tawa. It suited nomadic herders who carried nothing but flour.

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