History Of Börek

Börek (also burek, boereg, and other variants on the name) is a type of baked or fried filled pastry, popular in some countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the Slavic cuisines, throughout the Balkans and the former Ottoman Empire. They are made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo dough (or yufka dough), and are filled with salty cheese (often feta), minced meat, potatoes or other vegetables. Burek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. The top of the Burek is often sprinkled with sesame seeds. In Turkish, börek is the name used for pastries made with phyllo dough. Su böregi ("water burek") is the most common type. Layers of dough are boiled briefly in large pans, then a mixture of feta cheese, parsley and oil is scattered between the layers. Sigara böregi ("cigar burek," named for its shape) is often filled with feta cheese, potato, parsley and sometimes with minced meat or sausage. A variety of vegetables, herbs and spices are used in böreks such as spinach, nettle, leek, potato, eggplant, courgette, ground black pepper. Küt böregi is a fillingless burek, often served with powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Kol böregi ("arm burek") is a type of burek prepared in long rolls, either rounded (also named Gül böregi) or lined and filled with either mincemeat, feta cheese or potato and baked under low heat. Çig börek ("raw burek") is a half round shaped burek, filled with raw mincemeat and fried in olive oil.

From turkish bread to börek

Besides "ekmek" (ordinary white bread), "pide" (flat bread), "simit" (sesame seed rings), and "manti" (similar to ravioli), a whole family of food made up of thin sheets of a pastry called "börek" falls into this category.

The bakers of the Ottoman period believed that after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Adam, the Patron Saint of Bakers, learned how to make bread from the Archangel Gabriel. Obviously, the secret is still held dear by present-day Turkish bakers. No other bread tastes like everyday Turkish bread.

Manti, small dumplings of dough filled with a special meat mix, are eaten with generous servings of garlic yogurt and a dash of melted butter with paprika.

Börek is a dish for special occasions and requires great skill and patience.

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With the participation of the Turkish Ambassy, the Tourism Office and the Ministry of culture and tourism. Photo: Ev Cini.com.

www.theworldwidegourmet.com/countries/from-turkish-bread-to-borek

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western European. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Middle Eastern cuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia (such as yogurt), creating a vast array of technical specialities- many with strong regional associations.

Turkish cuisine has a range of savory and sweet pastries. Dough based specialities form an integral part of traditional Turkish cuisine.
The use of layered dough is rooted in the nomadic character of early Central Asian Turks.

Börek is the general name for salty pastries made with yufka (phyllo dough), which consists of very thin layers of dough. Cheese and parsley, is the most frequently eaten in the region.

Mini Roll (Poğaça) is the label name for dough based salty pastries. Likewise çörek is another label name used for both sweet and salty pastries.

Lahmacun is a thin flatbread covered with a layer of spiced minced meat, tomato, pepper, onion or garlic.

Pide, which can be made with minced ground beef (together with onion and spices) or cheese and parsley put on rolled-out dough, is one of the most common traditional stone-baked Turkish specialities.