Turkic Atlas

← Back to the encyclopedia

ADishIndependent states

Börek

A pastry of thin yufka sheets filled with cheese, meat, spinach or potato; the most famous is su böreği.

Su böreği with tea
E4024 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Börek grew out of yufka, the thin dough that nomadic Turks baked on a griddle, and the Ottoman palace kitchen made dozens of kinds. Yufka making is part of the "lavash, katyrma, jupka, yufka" flatbread culture inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2016.

For su böreği the sheets are briefly boiled, layered with cheese and butter and baked, giving a soft, layered pie. Sigara böreği is rolled thin like a cigarette and fried, while kol böreği is coiled into a spiral.

Börek is a staple of breakfast, afternoon tea and festive tables, and related dishes include burek in the Balkans and chiberek in Crimea.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia
  2. UNESCO ICH — Türkiye: Flatbread making and sharing culture: Lavash, Katyrma, Jupka, Yufka

Updated: October 2, 2026

Share this