Mısır ekmeği

Turkish Black Sea corn bread: dense, golden, and slightly sweet, the everyday bread of the Karadeniz coast where corn took root deeper than anywhere else in the Ottoman world

Origin: Black Sea Coast, Turkey

From the journey of Corn.

While Istanbul adopted corn as a roasted street food and central Anatolia used it in soups, it was the Black Sea coast, the provinces of Trabzon, Rize, Giresun, and Ordu, that embraced corn most completely. The Karadeniz (Black Sea) region has one of Turkey's wettest climates, its steep green hillsides carved by rivers running down to the sea. This climate suited corn cultivation perfectly, and by the 17th and 18th centuries the Black Sea coast had made corn its primary grain. Mısır ekmeği, corn bread, became the everyday bread of the region, replacing wheat bread that was more expensive and less abundant. It is still made in Black Sea homes and served in Karadeniz restaurants in Istanbul and across Turkey's diaspora. Unlike the light wheat breads of central and western Turkey, mısır ekmeği is dense, slightly sweet, with a firm crust and a tight yellow crumb. It is traditionally eaten with hamsi (Black Sea anchovies), the other defining food of the Karadeniz table, a pairing as fixed and ancient as the region itself.

Ingredients

400 g fine yellow cornmeal
100 g plain flour
7 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet)
350 ml warm water, plus more as needed
1 tsp caster sugar
1.5 tsp fine salt
2 tbsp olive oil or sunflower oil

Method

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 50ml of the warm water. Leave for 5 minutes until frothy.
Combine the cornmeal, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well, add the yeast mixture, oil, and remaining warm water. Mix with your hands to form a soft, slightly sticky dough; wetter than wheat dough but pliable. Add more water a tablespoon at a time if it seems dry.
Cover and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hour. Corn dough rises less dramatically than wheat dough; expect a modest increase, not a doubling.
Preheat oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Oil a 20cm round or 900g loaf tin generously. Press the dough into the tin with wet hands; it will not stretch like wheat dough; press and pat it into shape. Smooth the surface with wet fingers.
Bake for 35–40 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes

The traditional Karadeniz pairing is mısır ekmeği with hamsi (fresh or cured Black Sea anchovies) and strong tea. The bread is also excellent with butter and honey, with white cheese and olives, or as the base for an open sandwich with roasted peppers. A variant common in Giresun and Trabzon uses buttermilk instead of water, adding a slight sourness that improves the keeping quality. The bread is at its best on the day of baking; by day two it is best toasted or used in a pan with butter until the crust crisps again.

The Gastrographer

Name: Mısır ekmeği
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Turkey
Ingredients: 400 g fine yellow cornmeal; 100 g plain flour; 7 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet); 350 ml warm water, plus more as needed; 1 tsp caster sugar; 1.5 tsp fine salt; 2 tbsp olive oil or sunflower oil

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control