Turkish Bread Turkey Meal

Warm fresh bread is eaten with every meal in Turkey and Turkish Bread can be made in different ways. The Ekmek Turkish Bread is a flatbread, which is made with a 4 day sourdough starter. The time taken by the starter to ferment is 4 days and this makes the preparation time a little longer.

The main ingredients used for making Ekmek Turkish Bread is bread flour, water, dry yeast, white sugar and salt. The starter for the bread has to be prepared first. In order to make the starter, cup flour and ¼ cup water is stirred in a coverable bowl. This is kept at room temperature for a night. To this, cup flour, ¼ cup water is added the next day. The same quantity of flour and water is added to the mixture on the 3rd day as well. This is kept in room temperature again, for another night.

Yeast and sugar is dissolved in warm water to make the dough. It is mixed till it takes a creamy texture and is kept for about 10 minutes. Once the dough is made, the starter is broken into small pieces and added to the yeast mixture. To this, 4 cups of flour and salt is added. The remaining flour is then added to it, half cup at a time. After the dough has pulled together, it is kneaded for about 8minutes. A little flour is sprinkled and covered with a dry cloth. The dough for the Turkish bread is left until it becomes double its size.

The Ekmek Turkish Bread dough is placed on a lightly floured surface and divided into 2. Each piece has to be kneaded for 2-3minutes. They are then shaped into a tight oval leaf. Corn meal is sprinkled on 2 sheet pans and the 2 loafs are rolled until they become 15*12 inch ovals. Flour is sprinkled over the loaves and covered with a dry cloth. The loaves are allowed to rise to double its size.

The final step in making Ekmek Turkish bread involves pre-heating the oven to 425 degrees. The loaves are then baked for about 30 to 40 mins. In the 1st 15 mins, water is sprinkled thrice on it. It is ready when the bottoms sound hollow on tapping. Before serving, they must be cooled.

The total preparation time is 1 hour but due to the fermentation required by the starter, the process takes 4 days. Once fermented, the bread can be made in the oven within 40 minutes. The Ekmek Turkish Bread is supposed to be eaten the same day its baked but leftovers are sometimes used as chicken feeds, or mixed with milk for cats and even used for other dishes. Turkish Bread