Pide

Pide is a Turkish flatbread baked in a bakery oven, with an elongated shape and a surface topped with seeds. It is one of Turkey's most characteristic breads and is commonly eaten alongside döner and kebabs.

History

Pide is part of Turkey's bread-making tradition and has also spread to Turkish communities abroad and to some neighbouring countries. Unlike other Turkish flatbreads, it is leavened with yeast, which sets it apart in how it is made.

The most traditional version is the Ramadan pide, known in Turkish as ramazan pidesi. This name helps distinguish it from the dish also called pide. Many other varieties exist, some of them unleavened, reflecting the range of bakeries across the country.

Culture

In Turkey pide is eaten mostly away from home, paired with döner or kebabs, and it is part of quick meals and everyday street food. During the fasting month of Ramadan, it is customary to accompany meals with pide instead of other breads, giving it a role tied to religious and family life.

It is usually decorated with sesame or nigella seeds, and more rarely with poppy seeds, and brushed with egg yolk to give the surface a golden colour. Although it resembles pita bread, its shape and method of preparation are different.