During Ramadan in Bahrain, customers gather at traditional bakeries for hot tannour bread before the meal that follows sunset. A 2019 local report recorded people forming lines outside bakeries and waiting one by one for their turn.
The busiest period runs from after the afternoon Asr prayer until shortly before the Maghrib call at sunset. The bread is eaten on its own and used in thareed, a dish in which it absorbs a meat-and-vegetable broth. The time needed to bake each batch meets the household deadline for getting food home before iftar.
Neighbours waiting for the same sunset stand together in the same smell of fresh bread. Receiving a warm bag marks the moment each customer can return to a separate family table.