Turkish Bread Loaf (Somun Ekmeği)

The significance of bread in Turkish meals cannot be overstated. Every Turkish meal includes some sort of bread; either somun loaf, flat, pide or lavaş bread. Most Turkish people living in Turkish cities do not spend time making bread at home due to the numerous bakeries on almost every corner. The smell of bread coming out of these bakeries that make bread twice daily overfill the streets in the morning and in the afternoon. The most prevalent types of bread that can be found in Turkish bakeries are the Turkish somun bread and flat bread. Of course the breads may deviate from city to city in Turkey as every region has its own traditional cuisine. In Turkish villages, women get together and make flat bread (sac ekmeği) on iron griddle lit with wood or lavaş bread which is made in a tandır; a clay oven.

The closest bread to Turkish somun bread is French bread which we (my husband & I and maybe other Turks too) consume in order to satisfy our cravings of Turkish bread while living in the States. I made somun bread once last year to attain a closer taste to what we had in Turkey and it turned out just okay, so I never published the recipe. I kept putting off trying it out again until recently and in the mean time I spent some time studying bread baking. This time I am much happier with the result except one insignificant thing. Instead of cutting a horizontal line on top of the loaf as it is done with Turkish somun bread, I made diagonal cuts and thus could not attain the same Turkish bread look, but the bread tasted so good could not resist publishing it now. When I put my bread in the oven, I realized something was missing and couldn’t figure it out until I got the bread out. It was the look of it. For this reason, I am also sharing my bread picture from last year with the right incision, however with a slightly different recipe.

Caveat: I baked my bread on a pizza stone and the pizza stone cracked while the bread was baking. I am guessing it cracked because of the contact between the hot baking stone and the water dripping from the top of the bread to the bottom of the stone while basting. In any case, I did not disturb the baking process until it was finished. You may choose to bake it on a baking tray or cookie sheet.

The bread’s crust turned out crispy just as I had envisioned and the inner part soft. I was very pleased with the result and happy to share it with you.

For the Dough:

3 ¾ cups all purpose organic flour
1 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1¾ cup warm water

For Baking and Basting:

1 tsp cornmeal
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
Water for braising

Using a Stand Mixer:

Place the water a small bowl. Add yeast, stir and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Sift the flour and salt and place in the stand mixer bowl. Add the water with the dissolved yeast to the mixer bowl and place the mixer speed on stir for about 2 minutes. Run the mixer at speed 2 and gradually increase to speed 4 until the dough is soft and elastic (about 5-7 minutes). The dough can be tested by cutting a small piece and stretching it until it is transparent. If the dough stretches without breaking, then it is ready.

Manually:

Place the water a small bowl. Add yeast, stir and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Sift the flour and salt and place in a deep bowl. Add the water with the dissolved yeast to the flour and start kneading until the dough is elastic. Usually this will take about 15-20 minutes. Follow the same testing in order to make sure the dough is ready.

Making the Bread:

Cover the dough and let it sit for 2 hours in room temperature. The dough will rise.

With hands, push the dough down and let it sit 2 ½ hours.

Let it rise again.

Sprinkle baking sheet/stone with cornmeal. When the dough is ready, place the dough in the baking sheet or stone and give it an oval shape. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Run a knife horizontally on top of the bread or a few diagonal cuts.


Let the shaped dough sit for 1 hour.

Heat oven at 450 º F and place a small, empty iron pot inside while the oven is heating. When ready, place the baking sheet or baking stone with the bread in the oven and add 2 cups of water in the empty pan in order to generate some steam for the bread baking.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. While baking, baste with water every 5 minutes. Enjoy warm!

Turkish Flat Bread (Pide Ekmeği)

Bread, (“ekmek” in Turkish) is the main staple food in Turkish cuisine. Varieties include: pide ekmeği (flat bread), somun ekmeği (bread loaf which is very soft inside and crispy on the outside), sac ekmeği or yufka ekmeği (paper thin bread made on a large iron convex griddle), tandır ekmeği (thin bread made in a clay oven that is comprised of a hole in the ground and covered with clay inside), lavaş ekmeği which is also a thin type of bread baked in a clay oven and many more regional specialties. Different regions have different breads, hence I am not even able to mention all of them.

In Turkey, in almost every corner, you will run into a bakery where the aroma of bread is filling the whole street. Bakeries bake breads at least twice a day; in the early morning and in the afternoon. Fresh bread is purchased daily in Turkey. In the morning, just before breakfast, one of the family members takes a short trip to the closest bakery and picks up fresh bread. The bread is usually warm when purchased and when it enters the house, it makes its presence known with its delectable aroma.

Bread is consumed not only during breakfast, but also at lunch and at dinner. Every household purchases bread at least once a day. In villages and small towns, some people make their own breads such as sac ekmeği and tandır ekmeği. In this case, they would not purchase bread for lunch or dinner, but only for breakfast. During lunch or dinner if there is stew or soup in the menu, again, there is a rush to the bakery to get the warm and soft bread which is usually used for dipping.

The importance of bread in Turkish cuisine cannot be overstated. It is considered to be peasant food, since it is cheap and filling, nevertheless rich and poor, everyone consumes bread daily.

One of the foods that I miss the most from Turkey is the bread. A few months ago, I decided to start learning how to bake bread myself since I cannot find the same bread in bakeries.

One day, when I was talking to my parents over the msn, they happened to have a relative who used to be a baker visiting. So, I took the opportunity to ask him how to make pide ekmeği (flat bread) at home. He gave me instructions step by step. I did follow his recipe, but my first attempt to make the bread was not successful. In my second attempt, I started to change a few things here and there. The bread was better than the first time, but still not that good. In my third attempt, I made a few more changes in the process and this time it came out really good. Of course still not as good as what you would get in Turkey, but pretty good. Using the oven at home, it is almost impossible to attain the same texture and taste you would get in bakeries in Turkey.

I hope to experiment with more bread recipes and share them with you here. Here is the recipe for the flat bread.

Note: If the dough is too dry, add a little more water. If it’s too soft and sticking to your hands, then add oil to your hands in order to manage the dough.

For the Dough:
2.5 cups flour
2 packages dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

For Basting and Garnishing:
¼ cup warm milk
1 tbsp sesame seeds (black and white)

Preparation of the Dough:
Using a Stand Mixer:

Place the yeast in a bowl and add warm water. Mix well and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Place the rest of the ingredients for the dough in the mixer bowl and attach the dough hook. Add the yeasty water to the bowl and mix using speed 2 and increasing to 4 and then 6 until the dough is soft. This should not take more than 3 minutes.

Manually:

Place the yeast in a deep, large bowl and add the warm water. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Place the rest of the ingredients for the dough in the bowl and start kneading. You may need to dip your hands in the water so that the dough does not get too dry. Knead for 10-15 minutes until the dough is soft.

Making the Bread:

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or wet cheese cloth. Let the dough sit for 1 hour. The dough will rise during this time. Push the dough down and let it sit for a half hour. Divide the dough into two parts and make a ball with each one. Sprinkle some flour on the dough balls, so that the dough does not stick to your hands. Sprinkle some flour on a baking tray and let these two balls of dough rest for 15-20 minutes.

Flatten each ball with your hands and start stretching it until you reach the desired size. You could also make an oval shape instead of a round shape. With the tip of your fingers, press on the flat dough randomly to make the bread uneven on the surface. Brush with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds.

Bake at 475º F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. While the bread is baking, baste with warm milk every 5 minutes or so. Enjoy warm during breakfast or with any meal.