Izmir Bakery · Sephardic Pastry

Boyoz

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The recipe was brought to Izmir by Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, making a five-century-old pastry recipe one of the city's defining breakfasts today.

A dense, flaky pastry made from flour and tahini-enriched dough with no water or eggs, boyoz is baked until deep golden and often served with a boiled egg and a glass of tea for breakfast. Izmir's old bakeries turn them out fresh every morning, still warm from the oven.

Why it's made this way: Izmir absorbed a large Sephardic Jewish community after the Spanish expulsion, and their Ladino-named pastry (boyoz comes from the Spanish "bollo") became woven into the city's everyday food culture.