Niger

In Niger, bread is baked directly in sand.

The Tuareg are nomads of the Sahara, and their bread, taguella, needs no oven. First, a fire is lit on the sand. Then a shallow hollow is dug in the hot sand, and a flat, round disc of dough is laid in it. Hot sand and embers are swept over the top. After a while, the bread is turned and covered again.

When the crust is hard, the bread is lifted out and the sand brushed off. Then it’s broken into pieces.

Still, no grains of sand end up inside. The dough bakes too fast for the sand to get in.