Su böreği (water borek)
Photo: E4024 · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Su boregi belongs to the Ottoman palace-kitchen tradition of layered yufka pastries that travelled from Central Asia through Anatolia. The brief water-boil between layers, which gives the borek its name, sets the pastry soft rather than crisp; Istanbul bakeries have served it as a breakfast and morning-tea staple for generations.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 50 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 10 sheets ready-made yufka pastry (or fresh filo, doubled)
  • 300g Turkish beyaz peynir or feta, crumbled
  • 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 200ml whole milk
  • 200g unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon flaky salt
  • 3 litres water
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt (for boiling)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 200C. Brush a 30 by 22cm baking tin with melted butter.
  2. Bring the water to a rolling boil with coarse salt. Set a bowl of iced water next to the stove.
  3. Beat the eggs with milk, butter and flaky salt in a wide bowl.
  4. Lower one yufka sheet into the boiling water with tongs for 10 seconds, transfer to iced water for 5 seconds, then lift onto a clean tea towel to drain.
  5. Lay 2 sheets, unboiled, in the bottom of the tin, brushed with the egg-butter wash.
  6. Layer 6 boiled-and-drained sheets one at a time, brushing each generously with the wash.
  7. After the third boiled sheet, scatter the cheese and parsley evenly across.
  8. Continue with the remaining boiled sheets, brushing with wash between each.
  9. Top with 2 unboiled sheets, brushed with the last of the wash and butter.
  10. Score the top into 8 squares with a sharp knife. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until deep golden.
  11. Rest 10 minutes, then cut along the score lines and serve warm.

Tip from the editors. If the slab is dry at the edges, you brushed too thinly; the wash should pool slightly between every layer, the cheese softening into a custard as it bakes.

Where to eat su böreği (water borek)

Su böreği (water borek) in Istanbul

Beyaz Fırın Etiler ★ 4.1

₺ BakeryTurkish bakery and patisserieBeşiktaşWalk-in only

Beyaz Fırın in Etiler, a heritage Turkish bakery dating to 1836, working out of a two-floor Nispetiye Caddesi space with a vertical garden and a 350-seat.

Worth the queuePogaca cheese rolls

Directions

Beyaz Fırın Brasserie ★ 4.0

₺₺ ₺350-600BrunchTurkish bakery breakfast and brasserieBeşiktaş

Beyaz Fırın in Etiler, the heritage bakery's brasserie sister doing a full Turkish breakfast on the upper deck and bottomless pastry baskets from its own.

OrderSucuklu yumurta and the pogaca basket

Directions

Van Kahvaltı Evi ★ 4.5

₺₺ ₺350-500BrunchEastern Turkish serpme breakfastCihangir

Van Kahvaltı Evi in Cihangir, the dense Eastern-Anatolian serpme spread of herb cheese, kaymak and clotted-cream eggs that defines a Sunday Turkish breakfast.

OrderOtlu peynir, kaymak with honey and clotted-cream eggs

Directions

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