Turkish Börek: Su Böreği, Sigara and More

Walk into any Turkish bakery in the morning, and you will see trays of golden pastry cut into squares, long coiled rolls and crisp little cigars. Yet they are all börek, layers of paper-thin dough wrapped around cheese, spinach, potato or minced meat. For many Turks, therefore, a slice of Turkish börek with a glass of tea is the perfect start to the day.

Here is where börek comes from, the main kinds to know, and how to order them.

The Story of Turkish Börek

A word that means “to roll”

To begin with, the name comes from the Turkish verb bürmek, “to roll” or “to twist”. Already in the 13th century, the poet Rumi mentioned börek, and a later Turkish and Arabic dictionary described it as pieces of dough stuffed with meat.

From the layered breads of the steppe

Börek has roots in the layered breads of the nomadic Turks of Central Asia. In the 11th century, the scholar Mahmud of Kashgar recorded yuvgha, today’s yufka, as “pleated or folded bread”. Interestingly, he even described one kind so fragile that it crumbled at the touch, and another cooked in butter, a technique cooks still use for börek. By then, the rolling pin called oklava was already common.

However, another theory traces börek to a Byzantine cheese pie, itself a descendant of a layered Roman dish. Either way, börek became a pillar of Ottoman cuisine and spread from the Balkans to North Africa, under names such as burek, byrek and bourek.

Kinds of Turkish Börek to Try

Su böreği, the water börek

Of all of them, su böreği is the queen of börek. First, cooks boil the sheets of dough briefly in big pans. Then they layer them with a filling of white cheese and greens, brush the whole thing with butter and bake it. So it comes out soft inside and golden on top.

Sigara böreği, the cigarette börek

By contrast, sigara böreği is a thin roll of yufka around white cheese or potato, deep-fried until crisp. Because it looks like a cigarette, it got its name, and it is a favorite at breakfast and as a meze (small dishes shared at the start of a meal).

Paçanga, kol and talaş böreği

Next, paçanga böreği is a bigger fried roll filled with cheese, pastırma, tomato, parsley and pepper. Similarly, kol böreği, the “arm börek”, comes in long rolls filled with minced meat, cheese, spinach or potato. Finally, talaş böreği, the “sawdust börek”, is a puffy, crisp square, often filled with lamb and green peas.

Sarıyer böreği

Last but not least, look for Sarıyer böreği, a smaller and richer cousin of kol böreği, named after Sarıyer, the district on the upper Bosphorus. Far to the east, Bayburt bakes a sweet one, süt böreği: 15 thin sheets of yufka with roasted hazelnuts, soaked after baking in a syrup of milk and sugar. Families there serve it in Ramadan, at holidays and at weddings, and since 2021 it has been a registered geographical indication.

Tips for ordering Turkish börek

Where to Eat Turkish Börek

Look for a börekçi, a shop that sells nothing but börek, usually in the morning. Besides, many bakeries and pastry shops sell it too. Then read about the Turkish breakfast, gözleme, the griddled cousin of börek, and our Turkish food guide. For a breakfast table in Istanbul, join our Turkish breakfast and coffee tour.

For Sarıyer böreği near its home, our Bosphorus villages tour follows the shore from Ortaköy and can stop in Sarıyer. Book it as a private day, and we plan a börek stop on the way.