SweetloreEncyclopedia of World Sweets (534）
Ekmek Kadayıfı
Ekmek kadayıfı
Ingredients and Preparation of Ekmek Kadayıfı
Desserts ／ Turkey: Afyonkarahisar and other regions
Ekmek kadayıfı is a Turkish sweet in which a bread-like dough full of air pockets is soaked in syrup and served with kaymak. In Afyonkarahisar, the sweet dough is served topped with the region’s rich milk cream. The dry dough absorbs the syrup and becomes soft enough to cut with a spoon.
Soaking the bread in water, then letting it absorb syrup as it heats
The registered form from Afyon uses a bread full of air pockets, made by kneading wheat flour, water, yeast and salt, leaving the dough to ferment and baking it into a round. The bread is first soaked in water and the excess water is drained off; then hot syrup is poured over it little by little while the tray is heated over the flame and turned. The syrup that collects at the edge of the tray is scooped up and poured over the top again and again. Once the syrup has spread through the air pockets of the bread, it is left to cool, plated with the former bottom side facing up and served with kaymak.
This process separates the initial soaking in water from the later absorption of syrup. Rather than simply pouring syrup over dry bread and stopping there, the moisture is adjusted first and the bread is then heated together with the sweet liquid, so that the flavor reaches the inside of the thick dough. The kaymak added at the end brings the rich flavor of milk to the sweet bread.
Town tables and confectioners’ shops
In Afyon, it is said that a homemade sweet of stale bread softened in water and sweetened with pekmez or honey led to the region’s form of this dessert. It has been served both at communal meals for weddings, festivals, funerals and similar occasions and on everyday tables. There are also other forms that differ in the shape of the dough and the way the cream is sandwiched.
During Ramadan in 2020, the confectioner Şükrü Pancar began his preparations after the pre-dawn meal, making plain versions as well as ones with cherries or chocolate. One customer said that eating something sweet after finishing the meal after sunset is a habit.
A plate served with water buffalo milk kaymak is also something families look forward to at iftar.
Glossary
- Kaymak
- A rich cream made from milk.
- Pekmez
- A sweetener made by boiling down the juice of grapes or other fruit.
- Şükrü Pancar
- A confectioner interviewed about his preparations during Ramadan in 2020.
