This North Carolina Bakery Brings A Traditional Taste Of Baghdad Straight From A Brick Oven

The smell of fresh bread might be enough to make you change your plans.

In Cary, North Carolina, this family-run bakery keeps its brick oven busy with batch after batch of warm Iraqi bread, including sesame-topped samoon with its unmistakable pointed shape.

Then there is the market itself, where shelves are filled with spices, sweets, olives, and pantry staples that can turn a quick bread run into a much longer browse.

I love places where one simple stop suddenly becomes the best part of the errand list.

Come for the bread, stay curious about everything else, and do not be surprised if you leave carrying far more than you planned.

Here are eight reasons this shop deserves a closer look.

Step Inside And Let The Brick Oven Lead The Way

The smell hits you before anything else does. Warm flour and toasted sesame greet shoppers near the brick oven at the front of the shop.

Bakers pull trays of bread out on a regular rhythm through the day, so there is a good chance something is coming out of the oven while you browse.

Watching that process is half the fun, especially for kids who have never seen bread made anywhere other than a supermarket shelf.

You will find this family-owned bakery and market at Baghdad Bakery & Market أفران و أسواق بغداد, a compact, spotless shop that earns a 4.8-star average from more than 200 reviewers.

The space is small but well organized, with the bakery counter up front and grocery aisles filling the rest of the room at 742 E Chatham St A, Cary, NC 27511.

Doors open at 9 AM every single day, which makes an early-morning bread run entirely possible. Staff often greet regulars by name and happily explain what is baking.

Start With The Iraqi Bread Baked Fresh On-Site

Bread is the whole reason most people find their way here in the first place. Reviewers mention fresh bread more than any other single thing, and several say batches come out of the oven roughly every couple of hours through the day.

That schedule matters more than you might expect. The bakery prepares its Iraqi bread fresh on-site, so buying it warm is the entire point, and customers routinely admit they start tearing into the bag before they reach the car.

One shopper wrote that the first bite reminded them so strongly of home that they teared up in the parking lot. Another described it simply as the freshest bread they had ever eaten, practically straight out of the oven.

Besides samoon, the bakery offers other Iraqi and Middle Eastern breads and flatbreads. Prices stay friendly, samoon is sold in quantities that can be purchased to take home.

Practical tip: call ahead is not needed, but arriving mid-morning or early evening usually lines up well with a fresh batch.

Discover What Makes Traditional Samoon So Special

Picture a pita that decided to grow points on both ends. That is samoon, the diamond-shaped Iraqi bread scattered with sesame seeds that has become the calling card of this Cary shop.

Texture is where it wins people over. The crust stays thin and slightly chewy while the inside puffs up soft and airy, which means you can slice it open like a pocket or simply tear off pieces and dip.

In Iraq, buying samoon fresh in the morning is an everyday ritual, and one longtime customer said the taste here is exactly the same as what they grew up with. That kind of comparison carries real weight.

Try it a few different ways. Dunk torn pieces in hummus or creamy labneh, split a loaf and stuff it with deli meat and cheese for a sandwich that beats sliced bread, or serve it warm alongside grilled meats and rice.

Samoon reheats well in a hot oven for a couple of minutes, and it also freezes fine if you buy extra. Most visitors end up doing exactly that after their first bag disappears too fast.

Save Room For Baklava, Kleicha, And Other Sweet Treats

Sweet tooth? You are in luck, because the dessert side of this shop is no afterthought.

Freshly baked baklava comes in walnut and pistachio versions, layered with paper-thin phyllo and soaked just enough in syrup to stay sticky without turning soggy. One customer picked up two different kinds and declared both winners.

Then there is kleicha, the date-filled cookie widely considered Iraq’s national sweet. Slightly crumbly, gently spiced, and not overly sugary, it pairs beautifully with tea and travels well in a lunchbox.

Znoud el sit, a crisp rolled pastry filled with cream, has earned its own fan club here, with one reviewer calling it fantastic. A display of cakes and ice cream rounds out the sugary lineup for anyone shopping with kids.

The owners have a generous streak worth mentioning. Several visitors describe being handed free samples of baklava, or a cup of hot tea, simply for coming back a second time.

Buy a mixed box if you cannot decide. Baklava keeps at room temperature for several days, so there is no rush to finish it all in one sitting.

Browse The Market Shelves For Flavors From Across The Middle East

Half bakery, half pantry paradise. Once you have your bread, the grocery aisles are where the real treasure hunting begins.

Spices get the loudest praise from shoppers, who describe the collection as impeccable and the prices as genuinely reasonable. The market stocks a broad selection of spices, seasonings, and Middle Eastern pantry staples.

Beyond seasonings, you will find phyllo sheets and shredded kataifi dough, nuts, rose and orange blossom waters, olives, pickled vegetables, jarred sauces, tahini, halal meats, and a freezer section stocked for home cooking.

Brands come from Turkey, the Arab world, and beyond, which is why one reviewer called the place heaven for Middle Eastern shoppers living far from home. Fresh and packaged grocery products are also available throughout the market.

The store also carries imported foods and a changing selection of other merchandise.

Do not be shy about asking questions. Staff members regularly offer recommendations and explain unfamiliar ingredients, which makes first-time cooking experiments far less intimidating than reading labels alone.

Pair Your Fresh Bread With Something New From The Grocery Aisles

Warm bread deserves a good partner, and the aisles a few steps away make that easy.

Longtime customers swear by labneh, the thick strained yogurt that spreads like cream cheese but carries a pleasant tang. Drizzle olive oil over it, sprinkle za’atar on top, and scoop it up with torn samoon for a snack that takes two minutes to assemble.

Hummus is another obvious match and gets frequent mentions in reviews, as do falafel and prepared sandwiches for anyone who wants lunch ready to go.

Feeling more ambitious? Grab olives, pickled turnips, feta-style cheese, and a jar of date syrup, then build a small mezze board at home.

Kids tend to love the dipping format even if they are picky about everything else.

The bread also works beautifully with dishes outside its own tradition. One reviewer pointed out that it holds up just as well next to Indian curries as it does with Middle Eastern food.

Card payments are accepted with a small minimum purchase, and Apple Pay works too, so you do not need to hunt for cash.

See Why This Small Cary Bakery Feels Like A Taste Of Baghdad

Atmosphere is hard to fake, and this shop does not have to try.

One reviewer put it plainly: walking in feels like stepping into Baghdad. Arabic conversation floats across the aisles, tea sometimes appears unprompted, and the decor leans into the traditions the shop represents rather than watering them down.

Family runs the whole operation. Baghdad Bakery & Market operates as a family-run bakery and Middle Eastern grocery store.

That personal touch shows up in small gestures. Customers describe being offered free tea after returning to buy more items, or having ingredients patiently explained without any pressure to purchase.

Newcomers unfamiliar with Iraqi food report feeling completely welcome, which is worth saying out loud. Several reviews specifically note that the store greets people of all backgrounds with the same friendliness.

The owners also respond thoughtfully to online feedback, thanking customers for sharing memories of home. For families who moved far from Iraq, that connection matters as much as the groceries themselves, and for everyone else it makes an ordinary errand feel like a genuine outing.

Know What To Look For On Your First Visit

A little planning goes a long way with a shop this small and this popular.

Hours are refreshingly simple. Doors open at 9 AM seven days a week, closing at 9 PM Sunday through Thursday and staying open until 10 PM on Friday and Saturday, which gives weekend shoppers extra breathing room.

Look for the storefront on East Chatham Street in a modest plaza sometimes called the Shop of Chatham Square, with parking right out front and easy highway access for anyone driving in from Raleigh or Apex.

Bring a card or phone for payment, since credit cards carry a small minimum and Apple Pay is accepted. Cash works fine for tiny bread-only runs.

Buy more bread than you think you need. Nearly every reviewer mentions eating some in the car, and a bag of four samoon rarely survives the drive home intact.

Give yourself time to wander the aisles rather than dashing in and out. Between the spice wall, the sweets counter, and the imported pantry goods, most first-timers leave with far more than the loaf they came for in this North Carolina place.