Want to know how to make Turkish Bread? Look no further than this quick, easy and delicious authentic Turkish bread recipe. No bread baking experience required.
Nosy is a subjective term.
Yes I'm nosy when I think I can be of assistance to someone or they're talking about something really juicy but I think if I can hear something while remaining in the confines of my own home, that doesn't count as nosy as all, it's merely being aware of one's surroundings.
Yes?
The golf widow that used to be pre-kids, I was home one Saturday afternoon baking an easy Turkish bread recipe when I heard raised voices coming from the unit next door.
We used to have neighbours who like to argue.
I'm not talking abusive arguing just general couple stuff like 'I did this' and 'you never do that' that makes you feel normal and perhaps a little silly to think that you too sound like this sometimes.
You might also be interested in my no-knead artisan bread recipe.
I'm embarrassed to say that I was straight to the front door with my ear pinned to the crack to get my fix.
Every now and then I had to leave my post to knead the Turkish bread dough, pre-heat the oven, bake the Turkish bread and finally make my sandwich.
The argument went on for so long that I had to give up my post and sit down to eat, only because I couldn't balance with my ear pinned to the door and eat a sandwich at the same time.
My Turkish bread sandwich was worth leaving the entertainment behind. I wasn't expecting to be able to replicate the traditional bread but this was almost as good.
The consistency of the actual bread was not quite as wet but the crust was just perfect.
I toasted some the next day and it was super thin and crispy just like you get from toasting the store-bought version.
It's really easy to make and you only need flour, water, salt and yeast.
Next time you have a hankering for authentic Turkish bread, try making your own using this super simple Turkish bread recipe.
Ingredients
- Bakers flour
- Dried yeast
- Salt - we like Celtic sea salt
- Water - preferably filtered
- Polenta - this is for the tray & makes it much more authentic
- Egg - for egg wash to help the seeds stick
- Seeds to top the bread - Nigella seeds are authentic to Turkish bread
Surprisingly, there was no oil in this recipe.
Here I was thinking Turkish bread was oily (I think maybe the stuff you buy in the supermarket has a bit added to it).
Instructions
- Start by letting the yeast come to life. Sprinkle it over the water in the bowl of an electric mixer then leave it for 10 minutes to froth up.
2. Add the flour and salt to the bowl and use the dough hook on low speed until everything comes together. Increase the speed a little and knead the dough until it is smooth.
If you're kneading by hand, here are some tips:
3. Shape the dough into a ball and pop it back in the bowl then cover it up and leave it to grow for 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
4. Looks just about ready for a big punch in the face (totally undeserving though).
5. Looks like he caught a left hook complete with indent from my engagement ring, poor little dough ball!
Give it a good whack to let the air out and then perform the lift and fold, similar to the bend and snap. Use a scraper to lift the bread at 12 o'clock back over into the middle of the dough.
Turn the bowl 90 degrees and do it again until all four 'sides' have been folded into the middle.
6. Shape it into a ball again, cover it and leave it to rest for 30 minutes this time. If you're really short on time then you might prefer my 30 minute bread.
7. Line a baking tray with baking paper and then sprinkle over the polenta. It's not an essential step but I think it looks much more authentic with the polenta bottom.
Divide the dough into as many pieces as you like and then stretch and shape them into long, flat pieces. Cover them again and leave them to rest for 15 minutes.
If you like the look of this then you're going to love my best ever olive bread recipe.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 250C fan-forced and place a baking dish filled with water in the bottom of the oven.
There are a few different crusts you can achieve with this bread by changing the oven temp and cooking time and playing with the level of steam.
I wanted a thin, crispy crust like the bread from the supermarket so I baked it at a high temp with steam (see the recipe for other options).
9. While the oven it heating, poke the dough all over and brush it with the egg. Decorate the top of the dough with seeds.
All I had in the pantry was some poppy seeds so they had to do but I'd love to get my hands on some Nigella seeds to make it truly authentic. Anyone know where I can get some?
10. Bake the bread for 8-9 minutes or until it turns golden on top.
Not totally convinced it was going to turn out, I was pleasantly surprised when these emerged from the oven.
11. Pop them straight onto a wire rack to cool before you serve them.
If you're really observant you'll notice that the slice on the right isn't actually the end of the bread.
That would be because it somehow disappeared into my mouth before I could take a photo.
One serving suggestion - thinly sliced and served with a bowl of beetroot hummus.
Not the most exotic sandwich I know but fresh shaved leg ham, Swiss cheese and whole grain mustard made the perfect sandwich filling for my first Turkish bread. Enjoy!
How to make Turkish bread - a quick video
FAQs
Bakers flour (in Australia) is a flour that has a higher protein and gluten content than regular plain flour which means it holds together better and is perfect for baking bread like easy Turkish bread.
You can also use regular plain flour in homemade Turkish bread and add 'bread improver' to it which is basically the protein that's added to make bakers flour.
In some countries, 'bakers flour' is called 'bread flour.'
What about you? Are you nosy or do you keep to yourself? Would you listen in on your neighbours or do you think I'm terrible?
Recipe
Turkish bread
Ingredients
- 500 g bakers flour
- 4 g dried yeast
- 10 g salt
- 360 ml water at 110F
- 2 tablespoon polenta for the tray
- 1 egg for egg wash
- seeds to top the bread
Instructions
- Pour the water into the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle over the yeast. Leave it for about 10 minutes or until the yeast froths.
- Add the flour and salt and using a dough hook, mix slowly until the dough comes together.
- Knead for another couple of minutes until the dough is smooth.
- Shape the dough into a ball, cover the bowl and leave it to stand for 45 minutes or until it doubles in size.
- Punch down the dough and then use a scraper to knead the dough using the lift and fold method - lift the bread at 12o'clock and fold it back over the dough. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until you have folded in all 4 'sides.'
- Cover it again and leave it to rise for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into as many pieces as you like and shape them into long loaves.
- Lay them out on a baking sheet sprinkled with polenta.
- Cover them and leave them to relax for 15 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 250C fan-forced and place a dish of water in the bottom (if using).
- Use your fingers to poke holes in the top of the dough and then brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with seeds.
- Bake the bread for 8-9 minutes or until golden.
- If you want the crust to be harder, bake it at 220C for 14-16 minutes.
- I baked mine for 9 minutes at 250C using steam.
- Let the baked bread cool on a wire rack before serving.
pollin says
i was always curious to know how to actually make this bread and today i came across your recipe .
it turned out so good .
thank you so much for the recipe
Osman Kasif says
A suggestion of swiss cheese and ham is not Turkish, how about a handful of olives, fetta cheese, honey, and hot Turkish tea with your Turkish bread??
Claire says
Sounds good to me!
Amanda says
Great recipe! I used Kamut flour and sprinkled some dried mixed herbs in it. I mixed it by hand with a chopstick then just kneaded. Turned out delicious. The kids and hubby loved it. Thanks
Claire says
Ive never use Kamut flour to make bread before but I will give it a go now. Thanks so much Amanda.
Richard Collins says
Really great bread, so simple to make and a second batch is on the first rise right now.
Some extra details on what I did.
After adding the flour, i used my KitchenAid on #1 for about 7 minutes, then #2 for about 4 minutes. It is quite a sticky dough so I waited until it was pulling away quite well from the bowl wall.
Baking at 250 fan forced took about 11 minutes, but every oven is different.
I use a thick, large terracotta (inside) floor tile that I cut down to suit the size of my oven as my baking "stone"
I also use a small cast iron frying pan below the tile from first turning on the oven and throw in 3 - 4 ice cubes when the dough goes in.
Next time I might put some dried herbs in with the flour to see how that goes.
Finally, I use sesame seeds as a substitute and that is really nice.
Thanks again, simple and extremely tasty.
Claire says
Thanks so much for the extra tips Richard. I'm glad you liked it.
Ava T. says
I would love to make this bread but not sure what you mean by bakers flour. Did you use bread flour or cake flour? thanks
Claire says
Hi Ava. I am 99% sure bread flour is the US equivalent of bakers flour. It should be perfect!
Bipasha says
Thank you for this recipe. Will definitely try it out.
You can find nigella seeds in any Indian grocery shop. It is called kalonji.
Claire says
Thank you Bipasha! I will look out for them.
Elizabeth says
You can get nigella from an Indian spice market - it's called Kalonji there.
I just found some and I'm so excited! I've been wondering what those black seeds are on top of Turkish bread for ages now! - I love them!
Claire says
Thanks so much Elizabeth I will have to look for them!
Gavin says
I have a confession, I am totally against people who seem to think responding to recipe blogs is a sport. "This LOOKS great" "OMG TOTALLY HAVE TO TRY THIS SOON!!!"" blah blah blah. It drives me up the wall that people can respond to a recipe blog without even trying it. After all, pictures of a product are nothing without a good recipe.
But I can honestly say after making this last night that this recipe is a total success. Thank you for sharing.
Claire says
Haha you're very welcome Gavin. Glad you liked it! I just may be one of those people you are against :-)
Glamorous Glutton says
Great bread and I bet it's delicious. The fab thing about making your own bread is the smell that tempts you to taste a bit as soon as it comes out of the oven. GG
Claire says
It's so hard to resist cutting into it straight away isn't it?!
celia says
Lovely recipe, Claire! Good to know it's so easy!
Claire says
Thanks Celia! You could make it with your eyes closed I'm sure.
Hotly Spiced says
How awesome to have your own homemade Turkish bread. It looks fantastic. My neighbour is a golf widow - her husband plays religiously every Saturday from sunrise to sunset. I'm nosy too - always eavesdropping in on other people's conversations. My husband says I'm rude. I say I have acute hearing xx
Claire says
I have acute hearing too then Charlie! x
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Hehe I have such noisy neighbours and I try and drown them out with music. I had to overhear one of their conversations while hanging out the laundry. It was so, so, so very boring! :P
Claire says
I'd drown them out with music if I wanted to but I'm way too nosy!
The Café Sucré Farine says
You are so funny Claire, and so real! You had me laughing this morning reading this post. The bread looks fabulous and I want to sit and eat one of those yummy sandwiches with you. We'd have so much to talk about, wouldn't we? :)
Claire says
I keep telling you Chris... you need to book a flight to Australia!
Kristin says
Yum, I have to bake this soon. I have one neighbour in particular who I spy on through my peep hole. I'm pretty sure her profession is ... Lets just say I think her working name is Belle de Jour!! P.S You can buy the Nigella seeds when we go to Herbie's together for our spice class! x
Claire says
Oh yes I remember you telling me about her! Yay I'm not the only one. Ok I will put them on my shopping list x
sherdie says
That bread looks delish! Totally craving some warm Turkish bread now.
You should be able to get nigella seeds at an Indian grocer - like Geeta's in McWhirters in the Valley. They might be called 'Kalonji'. I *think* that's where I got them, otherwise it would've been online at Herbie's.
Claire says
Ahh Indian grocer why didn't I think of that?! There's one not too far from me. Thanks Sherdie!