Grains: Bread to Börek
The
foundation of Turkish food is, if anything, dough made of wheat flour.
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, Adana, 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. One realizes the wonderful luxury of Turkish bread only upon leaving
the country. This glorious food is enjoyed in large quantities and is loved
by all, rich and poor, simple and sophisticated. Every neighborhood has
a bread bakery that produces the olden, crisp loaves twice a day, morning
and afternoon, filling the streets with their irresistible and wholesome
aroma. People pick up a few loaves on their way home from work, and end
up eating the crisp ends by the time they get there. After a hard day's
work, holding the warm loaf is the best reward, convincing one that all
is well. Ekmek, pide and simit are meant to be eaten the same day they
are baked, as they usually are. The leftover ekmek goes into a variety
of dishes, becomes chicken feed, or is mixed with milk for the neighborhood
cats since they dont pay attention alone.
Manti,
small dumplings of dough filled with a special meat mix, are eaten with
generous serving of garlic yogurt and a dash of melted butter with paprika.
This is a meal in itself as a Sunday lunch affair for the whole family,
to be followed by an afternoon nap. Börek is a dish for special occasions
and requires great skill and patience, unless you have thin sheets of dough
already collect out bought from your corner grocery store. Anyone who can
accomplish this delicate task using the rolling pin, becomes the most sought-out
person in their circle of firmly and friends. The sheets are then layered
or folded into various shapes before being filled with cheese or meat mixes
and baked or fried. Every household enjoys at least five different varieties
of börek as a regular part of its menu. Along with bread, "pilav"
is another staple o the Turkish kitchen. The most common versions are the
cracked-wheat pilaf and the rice pilaf. A good cracked-wheat pilaf made
with whole onions, sliced tomatoes, green peppers sautéed in butter,
and boiled in beef stock is a meal in itself. Many versions of the rice
pilav accompany, vegetable and meat dishes. The distinguishing feature
of the Turkish pilaf is the soft buttery, morsels of rice which readily
roll off your spoon, rather than sticking together in a mushy clump.
