The best bread in the world is made in Turkey; or to be more precise, the two best breads in the world are Turkish, indeed… That is at least what the prestigious global gastronomy website TasteAtlas claims, which ranks two breads from the Turkish province of Samsun, on the Black Sea coast, as the tastiest on the planet. And it is not without reason.
In its list of ‘Top 100 breads in the world’, TasteAtlas ranks Bafra pide, a Turkish bread with an elongated shape and filling that is traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven, No. 1 in the world. In second place is another Turkish bread, Samsun pide, also from the same Black Sea region, which differs slightly from the former in terms of ingredients and preparation. For example, the traditional recipe for Bafra pidesi (Bafra pide) does not include cheese, unlike other varieties made in Samsun.
‘Bafra pidesi, a traditional Turkish savory pie from Bafra, is known for its unique canoe shape and is about 1 meter (3.2 ft) long and 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide. The dough, made from flour, water, yeast, and salt, is rolled into an oval shape and filled with a mixture of medium-fat ground beef, which has been previously roasted and drained of fat, finely chopped onions, salt, and black pepper,’ explains TasteAtlas about the world’s No. 1 ranked bread.
‘Samsun pidesi, from Turkey’s Samsun Province, encompasses three distinct varieties: Bafra pidesi, Terme pidesi, and Çarşamba pidesi. Terme pidesi is an open-faced pie made with a dough of flour, water, salt, yeast, and sugar. It’s topped with meats, cheeses, or pastırma and can include a whole egg placed atop the filling. Çarşamba pidesi is a soft, long loaf’, the website comments on other Turkish breads.
Samsun’s unique and varied cuisine
Pide is a type of Turkish bread of which there are dozens or hundreds of varieties throughout Turkey, depending on the region of the country. On top of the bread base, ingredients are usually added – often minced meat – but the particularity that exists in the Turkish Black Sea region is that many types of pide are prepared closed: that is, the dough is closed, covering all the ingredients. This contrasts with the pides made in the rest of Turkey, which are usually open and with the ingredients added on top of the uncovered dough.
In the case of Samsun breads, both open and closed type pides are made in Samsun. Bafra-style pide is a closed and crispier variant, while Terme-style pide is open and with a softer dough, while Çarşamba-style pide is a wider loaf. The production of these three types of bread is registered and they all have a protected designation of origin (PDO).
After hearing the news that a prestigious website has chosen several breads made in Samsun as the best bread in the world, the governor of the province expressed his joy and pride in this achievement, recalling that TasteAtlas has more than 800,000 followers worldwide: ‘This will attract the attention of food tourists and gourmets, contributing greatly to the promotion of Samsun’s cuisine, which is famous for the diversity of its local dishes, which delight both the eye and the palate’, he said.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
