A Turkish meal without bread is just not done. Even though the culture is changing, cuisine and styles following ever changing trends; a Turkish repast would just not be correct without bread. The culture of bread has traditionally been very community orientated. The firin (Turkish for oven and bakery) was the heart of a village or urban area. People not only bought their bread from there but family meals would be placed in the oven and cooked slowly for the evening meal. Even some of the restaurants, especially the worker’s cafes (esnaf lokantasi) would place their stews or casseroles in the wood burning ovens to cook. The growth of the supermarket and the demand for different breads has changed the life of these businesses especially in the cities. Still functioning but with some slightly different products in smaller cities and tourist areas, you will have to travel to the east of Turkey to find the old style firin functioning in the traditional way. The breads that are available from these ovens, it is interesting to note, often vary as to the area and the time of day;

• Pide: This is a common bread found all over Eastern Turkey but can come in a variety of shapes and sizes which is often an indication of the area.
• Corn bread and koy ekmegi a heavy ‘village’ bread is more popular in the Black Sea area. Made from unbleached flour and marked underneath with chard leaves.
• Lavas: the bread which no well dressed kebab would be without!
• Mornings would find the firin making the round seeded simit or local morning breads. In Kars you would find Kete – large envelope shaped flaky breads. In Antakya lightly spiced buns are popular. Lunch time in most areas, you will find lahmacun or katikli ekmek ( flat bread with spiced cheese) available. In the afternoon if you are in Sanliurfa and you fancy a sweet treat, look out for the sugar coated flatbread.