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
Consortium led by Metaminds, Trencadis awarded tender for Romania’s Government Cloud

A consortium led by Romanian technology group Metaminds, along with Trencadis Corp, announced the signing of the framework agreement for the provision of “Internal Cloud ICT Solutions and Products” as part of the implementation of Romania’s Government Cloud. The project aims to develop a modern, secure, and high-performance IT infrastructure that will support the digitalization of […]

Romanian conservationist Alex Găvan warns of major pollution in Vâlsan River, home to rare ‘living fossil’ fish

Romanian conservationist Alex Găvan has once again reported a major pollution incident at the Brădetu wastewater treatment plant, describing the Vâlsan River as "poisoned for years" and calling the situation a public health emergency and an ecological disaster. The river is the only refuge of the asprete, the mysterious-looking 'living fossil' fish that Găvan and his team […]

Bonapp Launches Bonapp Club in Bucharest: Smarter Dining, Bigger Savings, Less Waste

Bonapp, Romania’s leading app for reducing food waste, today announced the launch of Bonapp Club, a new subscription service inside the Bonapp app. The Club gives members access to exclusive dining deals from top partner restaurants in Bucharest. Unlike the core Bonapp app, which focuses on saving surplus food, Bonapp Club delivers special perks available […]

City Grill Group Prepares for Its Largest New Year’s Eve Celebration in Recent Years, With Over 3,200 Guests Expected. Almost 1,000 bookings so far.

City Grill Group, the leading player in Romania’s HoReCa industry, has opened the winter festive season with an accelerated pace of reservations for New Year’s Eve 2026. In less than a month since launching the offers, nearly 1,000 Romanians have already booked their seats in one of the group’s eight landmark restaurants. The 2026 edition […]

Only two Romanian universities included in the Times Higher Education top 1000

Only two Romanian universities, namely the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, appear in the top 1000 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, published on Thursday, October 9.  Around 30 higher education institutions from Romania submitted data for the ranking, but only […]

Google introduces AI Mode searches in Romanian

Google’s new AI-assisted search mode, the so-called AI Mode, is now available in Romania and in the Romanian language, powered by Gemini 2.5, according to a press release from the company. AI Mode functions as a distinct option within the Google search engine. The user can enter a question in the search bar and then […]