A single sheet of dough thrown until it is almost transparent, folded around clotted cream and green pistachio, then baked flat in a stone oven and cut into squares while it is still molten.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Katmer is a breakfast course in Gaziantep, not a dessert, and the counters that make it open at five or six in the morning and close before lunch. The dough is stretched by hand over a marble slab until light passes through it, which is why the shops build their windows around the counter: watching the throw is part of the sale. The filling is kaymak, the thick clotted cream of the region, and the pistachio is used raw and ground so it keeps its colour. Tradition also ties katmer to weddings, where it is served to the couple on the first morning.
Common allergens: Gluten, Nuts, Dairy
Tip from the editors. If the dough tears while stretching, patch it and carry on. A torn katmer still bakes, an over-rested one will not stretch.
Katmerci Zekeriya Usta is where Gaziantep eats breakfast, a stone oven turning out katmer layered with clotted cream and green Antep pistachio.
Order: Fıstıklı katmer with kaymak, eaten hot from the stone oven.
Tip: Come before ten. The dough is thrown to order and the queue builds through the morning.
Metanet Katmer opens at five in the morning on Kozluca Caddesi, so the classic Gaziantep breakfast of beyran and katmer can be done before sunrise.
Order: Classic katmer with clotted cream and pistachio.
Tip: Pair it with beyran across the road. That is the traditional Gaziantep morning order.
Beyoğlu Katmercim makes katmer in front of the counter on Kozluca Caddesi, a Gaziantep breakfast worth the two-street walk from the busier names.
Order: Kaymaklı katmer, watched through the window as it is made.
Tip: Ask for the corner table. The katmer travels badly even across the room.
Katmerci Murat is a family katmer counter on Atatürk Bulvarı in Gaziantep, cheaper and more generous with pistachio than the addresses on every list.
Why locals love it: A family katmer shop on Atatürk Bulvarı where the children work the counter and the pistachio is heavier than at the famous names.
Tip: Add the şam tatlısı if you are ordering for more than two people.
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