Turkey's great filled pastry: white cheese and spinach in layered yufka, sometimes boiled before baking for a silky-layered result. On every Turkish breakfast table.
About Börek
Turkey's great filled pastry — yufka dough layered with white cheese, spinach and egg (su böreği, water börek), or meat and onion (kıymalı), baked or fried until golden; the su böreği technique involves boiling the yufka layers first then layering them in a tray with filling and butter; the result is a soft, creamy interior within a crisp exterior; eaten at every Turkish breakfast and bakery counter.
Yufka dough layered with white cheese, spinach and egg (su böreği — water börek), or meat and onion (kıymalı), baked or fried until golden. The su böreği technique involves boiling the yufka layers first, then layering them in a tray with filling and butter — the result is a soft, creamy interior within a crisp exterior.
“Yufka dough layered with white cheese, spinach and egg (su böreği — water börek), or meat and onion (kıymalı), baked or fried until golden.”
The water börek technique (boiling the pastry before layering) is technically demanding and produces a texture entirely unlike baked börek — more layered, more delicate.
What to Expect
The börek arrives already cut into squares, the layers visible at the edge. The white cheese filling is soft and slightly salty. The exterior is golden and slightly crisp.
Why Try It
Börek is Turkish daily bread — present at breakfast, at tea, at bakery windows throughout the day.
Insider Tips
- Su böreği (boiled then baked) is more technically demanding and more delicious than standard baked börek.
- Coşkun Börek in Istanbul's Beşiktaş and any Karaköy pastry shop are reliable addresses.
- White cheese (beyaz peynir) filling is the benchmark — try other versions after.
