Pastry
Boyoz
Origin: İzmir, Aegean
Round, flaky İzmir pastry made from flour, water and salt with a tahini-based fat, baked golden and eaten at breakfast with an egg.
Boyoz is a round, flaky pastry from İzmir. Under its geographical indication, the dough is only wheat flour, water and salt. Pastry fat mixed with tahini is spread between two sheets of dough. The dough is then stretched very thin by hand, folded and rolled into a long cylinder. Pieces are torn off and pressed into rounds with a dip in the middle. They are brushed with sunflower oil and baked at 180–200 °C until lightly golden. A finished boyoz is 7–9 cm across.
İzmir boyozu was registered as a geographical indication in 2017. The pastry is linked to the Sephardic Jews who settled in the Ottoman Empire after 1492. Locals eat it at breakfast, usually with a hard-boiled egg and tea. Bakeries also sell filled kinds with spinach, cheese or artichoke.
Dietary notes: contains wheat (gluten) and sesame (tahini). The plain dough has no egg or milk; ask the bakery which fat it uses. Filled kinds may contain cheese.