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Dish

Burek

Breads, Flatbreads and Savory Pastries

Burek, also called borek or byrek, is a family of pastries or pies made across West Asia and Southeast Europe from a thin, flaky dough such as filo, filled with ingredients such as meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes. It may be baked in a large pan and cut into portions afterward, or prepared as individual pastries, and while it is usually baked, some varieties are fried and it can be sprinkled with sesame or nigella seeds and served hot or cold. Across Southeast Europe and West Asia it is commonly served with ayran or yogurt, and it is a Sephardic Jewish custom to eat bourekas for Shabbat breakfast on Saturday mornings.

Facts
Disputed
Origin Period, From (Year)
from 1101 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountThe earliest record of the Turkish word boerek appears in the 12th-century Turkish epic Danishmendname, where a sweet pastry called seker boregi is mentioned; opens the 12th-century bracket (1101-1200) for the earliest documented use of the word, not a claim about the dish's own invention date, which the source treats as genuinely contested.
Origin Region
Anatolia and the Balkans (West Asia and Southeast Europe); origin contested between a Byzantine Greek layered-dough theory and a Central Asian Turkic yufka-dough theory 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountThe source states the exact origin of boerek is unclear, with many cultures claiming credit: one theory traces it to the Byzantine Greek dish en tyritas plakountas, another to the Turkic custom of layering yufka flatbread.
Origin Period, To (Year)
to 1500 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountCloses the origin-year bracket at the 15th century (1401-1500), when food historian Gil Marks speculates yufka dough had evolved into the thin, sophisticated form used for modern boerek, per the source's own framing as speculation, not a documented event in a specific year.
Classification
Dietary SuitabilitySourced to the subject's own account
Contains Meat or Poultry 1
FAQs

What does the word börek mean?

It comes from a Turkish verb meaning to roll or to twist.

The word börek, defined as a stuffed pancake, is of Turkish origin. It comes from the Turkish verb bürmek, meaning to roll or to twist. The same dish is also written burek or byrek in other places.
Connections

Expresses Tradition

Passover and Jewish Holiday Foods, Food Traditions
Source Burek (Wikipedia)

In Cuisine

Turkish Cuisine, Cuisines
Source Burek (Wikipedia)

Uses Ingredient

Cheese, Ingredients
Source Burek (Wikipedia)
Potato, Ingredients
Source Burek (Wikipedia)
Spinach, Ingredients
Source Burek (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Anatolia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Burek (Wikipedia)tier 3
Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Burek (Wikipedia)tier 3
The Balkans

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Burek (Wikipedia)tier 3
Sources
1. Burek (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • History section
    The exact origin of börek is unclear, with many cultures claiming credit, while the general practice of layering thin breads and fillings has been preserved and independently invented by multiple different cultures.
  • Wikipedia, Börek, lead section, placement of the dish in a group
    is a family of pastries or pies made in West Asia and Southeast Europe.
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6rek (dietary-suitability)
    The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes.
  • In Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine
  • Expresses Tradition: Passover and Jewish Holiday Foods, Lead section
    It is a custom of Sephardic Jews to have bourekas for their Shabbat breakfast meal on Saturday mornings.
  • Uses Ingredient: Cheese, Lead section
    made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes
  • Uses Ingredient: Spinach, Lead section
    made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes
  • Uses Ingredient: Potato, Lead section
    made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes
View the Source
Wikidata: Burek
Wikidata Q1019927, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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