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Paçanga böreği is a Turkish börek variety that's especially popular in the region of Anatolia and in Istanbul, where it's regarded as a traditional Sephardic Jewish specialty of the city. It's made by stuffing yufka or phyllo pastry with pastirma (salted, aged, dried beef) and kasar cheese.
Apart from the basic ingredients, some people also like to add peppers and tomatoes to the filling. The dough is rolled, cut into rectangles, then fried. This börek can also be baked, but frying is the traditional method. Paçanga böreği is served hot and it's typically eaten as an appetizer.
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Çiğ börek is a börek variety hailing from Türkiye. This börek is especially popular among Türkiye's Tatar community. The dough is made from water, sugar, flour, oil, and salt, while the filling is made with ground meat, onions, spices, and (sometimes) cheese.
The dough is folded over the filling and shaped into a semicircle before being deep-fried until golden brown. It's recommended to serve çiğ börek with ayran or yogurt on the side.
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Kol böreği is a Turkish börek variety made with puff pastry that is shaped into a spiral. The pastry is filled with a variety of ingredients such as cheese, spinach, potatoes, or ground meat with pine nuts and currants. The name of the dish means arm börek, referring to the long, arm-like visual appearance of the pastry.
After it has been baked at low temperature, kol böreği is typically cut into smaller pieces.
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Boşnak böreği is a type of Turkish börek that's very similar to kol böreği. However, the dough is rolled somewhat thinner and it's traditionally filled with a combination of spinach and cheese. This börek type can also be prepared with potatoes and ground meat.
The name means Bosnian börek because börek is extremely common in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Once assembled, the börek is baked until golden brown. When served, it's best to pair it with a cup of yogurt on the side.
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Tepsi böreği is a popular type of Turkish börek, essentially a savory pastry made by layering sheets of phyllo pastry with a filling. The filling can be almost anything, but typically it will be either seasoned ground beef or lamb with onions or potatoes, spinach, or cheese.
Each layer of pastry is brushed with melted butter or oil before adding the filling and the next layer. Once the pastry is assembled, it can be brushed with an egg wash or yogurt. Tepsi böreği can be cooked two ways, either in the oven or on the stove, in which case, the pastry should be flipped so it bakes on both sides.
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Su böreği, which translates to water börek, is a variety of Turkish borek that has a reputation as being one of the most difficult boreks to prepare. It is traditionally filled with cheese and parsley. The dough sheets need to be soaked in a combination of water, olive oil, milk, and eggs before baking, making the borek tender and juicy, hence the name.
Su böreği can be found at most borek shops throughout the country.
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The cylindrical sigara böreği is a famous Turkish deep-fried pastry. These small, crispy rolls of thin dough are stuffed with a creamy mixture of cheese and parsley. They are traditionally made with sheets of thin yufka dough, a common ingredient in many boregi varieties, or with a thicker phyllo dough.
Mixed with fresh parsley and (sometimes) eggs, the cheese is spread on the triangle-shaped dough, which is then shaped into a cigar. After it is fried, sigara böreği turns into a satisfying delicacy, with a crispy outer layer and a velvety filling.
MOST ICONIC Sigara böreği
View moreGül böreği is a single serving type of börek that's shaped into a spiral or a rose. Yufka or phyllo dough is traditionally stuffed with the most popular fillings: spinach, soft white cheese, potatoes, or ground meat. Once assembled, the dough is rolled into a coil-like shape and the börek is then baked until golden brown.
If desired, gül böreği can be sprinkled with sesame or nigella seeds before baking. It's recommended to serve the börek warm and pair it with a cup of tea or yogurt.
Açma is a type of Turkish pastry characterized by its soft and flaky texture. The soft dough is traditionally twisted and rolled up into a bagel, which can be made in a sweet or savory version. It consists of flour, sugar, salt, yeast, yogurt, milk, eggs, butter, and olive oil.
This pastry can be easily found in most Turkish bakeries, where it is often sprinkled with sesame seeds.
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Boyoz is a Turkish pastry that was brought over to the country by Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Spain in the late 15th century. Nowadays, it is prepared exclusively in Izmir, following the original recipe. The pastry is made with flour, sunflower oil, and tahini.
Tahini increases the nutrient value of boyoz, but it also makes the dough rise in layers. Boyoz is additionally filled with ingredients such as cheese, meat, olives, artichokes, or spinach. Traditionally, this flavorful pastry is served as an essential part of breakfast, when it is accompanied by hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with black pepper and a glass of Turkish tea.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 10 Turkish Savory Pastries” list until January 29, 2025, 1,401 ratings were recorded, of which 724 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.