Ooni Koda
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Newsfeed
  4. /
  5. Turkey’s Bread Culture

Turkey’s Bread Culture

October 29, 2018

Bread or “ekmek” as it’s known in Turkish, is central to Turkish culture, and arguably always has been. Nomadic Turks have been consuming bread for millennia, and bread is an indelible part of Turkish culture and Turkish cuisine. Almost every meal you eat will be served with fresh bread, and soaking up the juices or oils of another delicious Turkish meal is always one of its highlights. Bread is made in a wide variety of ways and differs from region to region within Turkey. Each region, and often each bakery, has their own secrets to how to produce the perfect bread and these secrets are passed down from generation to generation. There is a premium placed on freshness in Turkey the likes of which you’ll see in very few other countries in the world, with lines out the door in bakeries three times a day as the bread is baked freshly for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the Ottoman period, it was believed that Adam, after getting expelled from the Garden of Eden, was the Patron Saint of Bakers after he learned how to bake from the Archangel Gabriel. But bread touches all aspects of culture. It’s a binding food between the wealthiest and the poorest of society. It’s viewed as more than a “food” but a cultural product. It takes on a practically sacred air, and the labor that goes into making it is also revered. Indeed bakers will even invoke the name of God before placing the bread in the oven, and bread of course takes on an even greater importance during religious festivals. Almost every religious festival in Turkey, Christian, Jewish or Islamic, features its own varieties of breads, each baked and flavored in different ways. Bread is often seen as both the food of the poor and the food of the soldier. Peksimet (Romanian: pesmet), a form of hardtack, was the primary food source for many soldiers in World War I and the Turkish War of Independence. “Ekmek parasi,” or “bread money,” is the phrase used for the money one lives off of, tying the notion of bread with life itself. Bread is sold through government-regulated dealers, with the price determined by the state, though private bakers are permitted to sell at whatever price they deem fit.  Flatbreads were used commonly amongst central Anatolian Turkic tribes, with breads laid on top of one another and rolled up, ensuring that the inner layers stayed fresh and only the outer layers were exposed to the air. These sorts of unleavened breads are typically baked on what’s known as a “sac” in Turkish, a convex iron griddle that is either placed over a fire or filled with hot coals. But the types of breads in Turkey are endless, with the thickness and weight being a critical difference maker. The thickness is often determined by how breads are rolled out. Breads in Turkey are typically rolled on a long wooden rod called an “oklava.” They can be made with different quantities of wheat, barley or corn, and mixing and matching these ingredients is relatively common. Different flours and different seeds are added, and as bread is so common in every meal, they range from breads that are meant to be stuffed, used as pastries or used as loafs. So bread is tied to life and culture itself, and has been so for millennia both in Anatolia and from the origins of Turkish culture. When you come to Turkey, make sure you try as many varieties as possible – we can just about guarantee they’ll all be fresh! Adapted from Turkey.Home  

The text of this article has been partially taken from the publication:
https://www.nineoclock.ro/2018/10/29/turkeys-bread-culture/
Read in full - click here
STIHL strengthens its global network with the inauguration of its first battery-exclusive plant in Oradea, Romania.

Investment: 125 million euros to establish STIHL’s European Competence Center for the production of battery packs and battery-powered tools Scale: 47,000 square meters facility on a 147,000 square meters site — capacity of up to 1.8 million battery packs and 1.7 million tools by 2028 Employment: Approximately 700 jobs to be created by 2028 Network: Romania […]

Council of Europe anti-torture committee signals serious deficiencies in Romanian forensic psychiatric hospitals

A report published on Wednesday, October 15, by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (or CPT) urges Romanian authorities to address serious shortcomings in the treatment and conditions of detention of patients in forensic psychiatric hospitals. The deficiencies in the Romanian system were identified by the Committee representatives during a visit […]

Romanian electricity distributor Electrica completes Satu Mare 2 photovoltaic park

The state-owned Electrica (BVB: EL), one of the main players in Romania’s energy sector, completed the Satu Mare 2 photovoltaic park, a strategic project that marks an important step in diversifying the production portfolio. Located near the commune of Botiz, Satu Mare County, the park has an installed capacity of 27.056 MW and represents an […]

Western Romania: Artifacts from Italian museums in Timișoara exhibition on Pompeii

More than 100 items, ranging from frescoes and paintings to sculptures, photographs, and other rare artifacts from Italian museums, will go on display in Timișoara for an exhibition looking at the city of Pompeii. Titled The Fragility of the Eternal. From Pompeii to the Grand Tour to Today, the exhibition will be open from November […]

Romanian-born robotics startup in London secures USD 165 mln funding

Robotics startup Dexory, founded in London by Romanians Andrei Dănescu, Adrian Negoiţă, and Oana Jinga, has secured new Series C funding of USD 165 million, according to an announcement made on LinkedIn and quoted by Ziarul Financiar. The company has developed an autonomous robot, the tallest in the world, reaching 16 meters, and a platform designed […]

NEPI Rockcastle inaugurates its first PV park in Romania as part of EUR 110 mln green energy plan

NEPI Rockcastle, Central and Eastern Europe’s largest owner and operator of shopping centers, has inaugurated its first photovoltaic park in Chișineu-Criș, Arad county, in western Romania. The investment is part of its green energy programme, which includes a EUR 110 million plan for photovoltaic projects across Central and Eastern Europe.  According to the company, these […]