Binnur's Turkish Cookbook

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Sunday, January 07, 2007

Turkish Rustic Bread

(Koy Ekmegi)

Turkish Rustic Bread
Sourdough Starter:
1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp + 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp warm water

Dough:
7 gr or 8 gr (1 packet) instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water

3 cup flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water

Getting the starter going takes a few days. On the first day, mix 1/4 cup flour with 3 tbsp warm water in a bowl very well and cover. Let it sit at room temperature.

On the second day, add 1/4 flour and 3 tbsp warm water, mix very well, cover. Let it sit at room temperature.

On the third day, add 1/4 cup flour and 2 tbsp warm water, mix well. Let it sit at room temperature.

The starter will be ready on the fourth day. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water. Stir well so the yeast dissolves. Let it rest for 10 minutes - it will become bubbly (picture).

Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the bubbly yeast mixture, 1 cup warm water and the sourdough starter. Mix and put the dough on the lightly floured counter and knead well for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth.

Place the dough on a floured tray, sprinkle some flour over it (picture) and cover with a clean kitchen cloth. Let it stand in a warm spot*. After 2 hours the dough will double in size (picture).

Place the dough on the lightly floured counter. Press all over it with your hands to get rid of air bubbles (picture). Knead for about 3 minutes and give it an oval shape (picture). Sprinkle some flour all over, cover it with a clean kitchen cloth, and put aside for about 40-45 minutes until the dough doubles again in size.

If you have a pizza peel, sprinkle some cornmeal on it. If not, place parchment paper on an oven tray and sprinkle some cornmeal or some flour on it. Then gently arrange the loaf on it. With a razor or very sharp knife make a few 1 cm deep slashes on the dough (picture) for the steam to come out.

Preheat the oven to 425 F and put some hot water in an oven-safe bowl. Place it at the bottom of the oven. Place the tray on the middle rack. Bake for about 40 minutes. Place the Turkish Bread on the wire rack to cool it. Then slice and serve.

* I turn the oven 175 C for 5 minutes and then off. After 5 minutes it was warm enough to make the dough double in size so I placed the tray in the oven for 2 hours:)

29 Comments:

At 10:54 PM, Blogger Rachel said...

The bread looks lovely!

 
At 3:38 AM, Blogger Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I love that bread! I generally make it flat and round...

Yours looks fine.

 
At 8:59 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Rachel and Rosa:)
Thank you very much, yeah it can be also a round shape. Both ways I
love to have it with Feta cheese, black olives and tomato slices with
the bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil! Also I usually kep Turkish
Tea nearby:)

 
At 10:20 AM, Anonymous Chris said...

Thank you for posting this recipe. I intend to master it and enjoy Turkish bread (ekmek) for years to come. Your email friend, Chris

 
At 1:05 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Chris,
Thanks for reminding me to post this because I hadn't made it in a
long time and missed it :) In the future I will post more varieties of
Ekmek....

 
At 7:26 PM, Anonymous Joanna said...

I've been waiting for the recipe for a traditional turkish bread (i'm guessing it is traditional turkish). Thank you very much for it and thanks for making it sound so easy:)
Joanna

 
At 7:49 PM, Anonymous joanna said...

one more thing...does the tray have to be covered while baking?
thanks,
joanna

 
At 8:38 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Joanna,
Thank you, it is really easy to make:) This is the traditional Turkish sourdough bread. And it has a pleasant sour flavour that I like so much:)
Yes, I placed parchment paper on the oven tray, thanks for asking,
because I forgot to write it down:)

 
At 6:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Binnur,

Do you know how to make non-sourdough ekmek, like they do in Istanbul? I make my own white bread at home, but it never comes out as fluffy inside, as the Turkish bread. Unfortunately, I have not found a recipe that explains how to make it... unless, it just isn't possible with our home ovens?

Thank you,
Lynette

 
At 11:16 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Lynette,
I do have a non-sourdough ekmek recipe. I will post it soon:)

 
At 1:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Binnur,

I love your recipes. I just discovered your website a few weeks ago. I made this bread and really enjoyed it. Could you please post the non sour dough recipe for traditional Turkish ekmek? I really love it and haven't been able to find a good recipe.

Thank you,
Karen

 
At 11:15 AM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Karen,
Thank you, I am glad you like the recipes:) I am going to post the
traditional ekmek recipe soon. It is really hard to get exactly the
same taste. I think the difference comes from the flour. But I make my
own ekmek and we love it:)

 
At 11:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Binnur,
I'm thrilled to find your web site. I lived in Turkey in the 60s and 70s. We always loved the chore of walking to the "firin" specially during ramazan when there would be "pide". We would buy extra to eat on the way home. Thanks, Evan

 
At 5:44 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Merhaba Evan,
My childhood memories are filled with times from the 60s, then 70s I
was a teenager and these years were the best teenager years I could imagine in Turkey. Pide or Turkish bread, I always finished one corner on the way back home from firin:) Always enjoyed spreading delicious butter on the corner of a freshly baked bread....you brought so many
lovely memories, thank you:)

 
At 12:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Binnur its Sam again,

My friends mum made like a lat bread but it had a meat filling in it. She said it was pide but extremely flat and a very yummy meat mixture in it. Could you please post the recipe for it if you know what it is.

Thanks, Sam

 
At 10:37 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Sam,
I think you are asking Lahmacun recipe, here is the address;

http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2006/04/turkish-style-pizza-with-ground-beef.php

Sevgilerimle,

 
At 8:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

please can you tell me if after making the starter can I make the dough in a breadmaker as I find it too painful to knead the dough with my hands

 
At 6:44 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

I've never used bread machine, sorry:)If you like give it a try...

 
At 9:43 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Merhaba Binnur!
Cok cok merci sizin website icin.
Mutlaka anlyorsunuz ki ben Amerikalim fakat Turkce yazmaga calisyorum ne zaman mumkunise.

Turk ekmege cok ozledim. Insallah bu recete o eski koy ekmege gibi olacak.

Cok tesekkur ederim.
Rosemary

 
At 11:30 AM, Blogger Binnur said...

Merhaba Rosemary,
Tarifleri denediginiz icin ben tesekkur ederim:) Koy ekmegini yaparken, bulabilirsen siyah un (beyazlatilmamis) kullanabilirsin , daha da lezzetli oluyor...
Sevgilerimle,

 
At 11:31 AM, Blogger Binnur said...

Merhaba Rosemary,
Tarifleri denediginiz icin ben tesekkur ederim:) Koy ekmegini yaparken, bulabilirsen beyazlatilmamis un kullanmani tavsiye ederim, daha da lezzetli oluyor.

 
At 4:51 PM, Blogger Southern Yankee said...

Thank you for the memories I grew up in Izmir 78-80 and miss turkish food so much. sucuk is what I miss most can we get real sucuk in USA? Also while im dreaming how about some salep and gazoz too lol.

 
At 6:01 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi,
You can purchase Sucuk, Pastirma, Simit, Salep, Gazoz, even Yesil Erik (in April)..... from online at Tulumba.com and Taste of Turkey:)
Sevgilerimle,

 
At 11:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi,Binnur
I just find ur blog and really love it. i am looking for the non sourdough pida as well. i looked everywhere of ur site but can't find, Did i miss somewhere? Could u plz show me if u can. thanks.

PS: i am a overseas student(from china) now studying in OZ, i used to work in a turkish restaurant and really loved the pide bread they normally served as entree.
^ ^

 
At 8:11 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi,
I've posted some Pide recipes which are under the Turkish Bread & Pide recipes section, here is the address;

http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2005/03/turkish-bread-pide-recipes.php
Take care:)

 
At 4:17 PM, Anonymous Violeta said...

Dear Binnur,
Thank you for the lovely website!
I just started making the bread and realized that I am not sure what consistency the starter should be... Mine turned into a dryısh blob of dough - is that right? Or is it supposed to be liquid?
Teşekür çok ederim,
Violeta

 
At 10:26 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Violeta,
Tesekkur ederim:) The dough should be soft with the correct amounts of warm water and flour. Did you cover the bowl with plastic wrap?
Sevgilerimle,

 
At 5:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Binnur,
I only covered the bowl with a paper towel, not with a plastic wrap, which may explain why the starter kept getting this hard 'skin' :( which I then had to pick out piece by piece out of the dough...Also, when I left the dough to rise it had the 'hard skin' problem. Do you have an idea maybe what the problem may be?
In any case, the bread is about to go into the oven, I'll let you know how this pioneering ekmek turned out :)
Violeta

 
At 7:45 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Dear Violeta,
Maybe you should sprinkle more flour over the dough. As you've seen the picture the dough should not have that hard skin. I hope you will like the freshly baked bread:)

 

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