Çeşme Sandwich · Grilled Sesame Bun

Kumru

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The bread itself is the star — kumru bakeries guard their specific bun recipe, and the sandwich is named after that bun's shape (kumru means "turtledove" in Turkish).

A soft, sesame-topped bun unique to the Çeşme peninsula is split, grilled on a flat griddle, and filled with sucuk or salami, tomato, green pepper, and kaşar cheese until the cheese melts and the bread crisps. Beachside stands along the Aegean coast sell it as the go-to summer lunch.

Why it's made this way: Çeşme's resort towns, packed with Izmir's summer beachgoers since the mid-20th century, built an entire fast, portable sandwich culture around the local bakery's bun.