Gaziantep Green Olive Pastry

Description and Distinguishing Features of the Product:

Gaziantep Green Olive Pastry is a type of pastry that has been produced for over a century using olive oil extracted from olives grown in Gaziantep's central and Nizip districts, as well as Kilis. These pastries are shaped like a crescent and have a diameter of approximately 14-15 centimeters.

Gaziantep Green Olive Pastry

Gaziantep Green Olive Pastry is made with the distinctive flavors of olives grown in Gaziantep's central and Nizip districts, as well as Kilis. The ingredients include low-fat minced lamb, dry onions, fresh (green) onions, parsley, walnut kernels, clarified butter produced from sheep or goat milk in accordance with the Turkish Food Codex, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt.

The use of lamb minced from the local breed of sheep in Gaziantep, known as the "hallik sheep" or "Karaman sheep," ensures that the meat in the pastry cooks easily and becomes more flavorful.

Preparation Method:

For the preparation of the inner filling, if the brined green olives are too salty, they should first be soaked in water, changing the salty water a few times to reduce the saltiness. Then, the olives are finely chopped. In the preparation of other ingredients, medium-fat minced lamb is roasted in a pot until its water evaporates. Clarified butter and finely chopped onions are added to the roasted lamb, and the onions are sautéed until they become soft, then left to cool.

Chopped olives are added to the roasted and cooled mixture. Then, finely chopped walnuts, finely chopped fresh (green) onions, parsley, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and if necessary, salt are added. All these ingredients are mixed together 3-4 times.

For the pastry dough, 50 kilograms of flour, 35 liters of water, 35-40 grams of salt, and 500 grams of fresh yeast are used. The proportions of the ingredients for making the dough can be adjusted. Approximately 50 grams of dough will be used for each pastry. Fresh yeast is dissolved in a little warm water and added to a dough mixer or a bowl containing the mixture of flour, water, and salt. The dough is kneaded for about 10 minutes either by using a dough machine or by hand. The kneaded dough is covered with a clean and damp cloth and left to rest for approximately 30-40 minutes, depending on the weather conditions. In cold weather (around 25°C-30°C), the resting time is 40 minutes, while in hot weather (35°C and above), this time is shorter.

When the dough is ready, dough balls of approximately 150 grams each are made. For this, a piece of dough, sufficient in size, is torn off and rolled between both hands to form pastries. The dough ball is first expanded and thinned by hand to create a circular shape with a diameter of about 20 centimeters. A fluid mixture called "bulamaç" is applied to the surface of the dough. Bulamaç is obtained by mixing 500 grams of fresh yeast, 1 liter of water, and 150 grams of sugar. To prevent the yeast in the bulamaç from becoming sour due to the oven heat, it should be kept cold, and if necessary, ice cubes can be added to it.

The round and flat dough, which has been coated with bulamaç, is shaped by pressing it with the fingertips in a row, first in one direction and then in a diagonal direction. During baking, the imprints of the fingers on the pastry rise and expand, increasing the cooking surface of the dough. The fewer and more spaced out the finger imprints are, the larger the swollen parts become, but the cooking surface of the dough decreases. In the preparation of the product, small pastries with finger imprints are made, contributing to a better-cooked texture.

Borek ovens do not use electricity or liquid fuels as fuel; instead, they are heated with wood. Oakwood is preferred as fuel because it burns slowly and without producing much smoke, resulting in a homogeneous oven temperature during baking. Occasionally, pine wood can also be used if necessary. In these ovens, wood burns inside the oven and on one side, while the product to be baked is placed on the other side. The temperature of these ovens is approximately 250°C, and due to the physical effects of the wood fire, the baking process is quick, and there is no drying. After baking, the crescent shape of the Gaziantep Green Olive Pastry slightly shrinks and elongates.

The previously prepared 150-gram dough ball is divided into three equal parts. Each part is circularly opened by hand on a floured surface. The circular dough with a diameter of about 15 centimeters is filled with some of the prepared Gaziantep Green Olive Pastry filling on one side, and the other half of the dough is folded over it. Then, by pressing with fingertip.