No matter what you call this treat and what time you eat it during the day you will definitely enjoy it. Every culture have their own ways of making a version of fry bread including Native Americans to Africa, Europe and Asia. This recipe is for the Turkish version locally called “pişi” or “salty lokma”.
Turkish fry bread customs
This is another recipe from my late grandmother. She lived in Edirne, one of the largest cities of Turkey right next to the Bulgarian and Greek borders. The city was also one of the capitals of the Ottoman Empire.
When there was a special day or when she had a wish come true she used to set up a great scene to prepare these fry breads for the family and for all the neighborhood. As kids our job was to take several of these to every neighbor and get their good wishes. We had lots of fun running around. I am posting this recipe on Mother’s Day for her memory.
When to have fried bread
I prepare this delicious treat for my kids now, generally when they come home from school; hungry for food. It is traditionally served with white cheese (similar to feta cheese) together with jam or honey. Serving Turkish tea with it is almost a must. They are at their best when still warm, but you can eat later on too, cold or re-heated.
How to prepare this recipe
Here are all the steps for preparing these salty doughnuts:
Break 2 Eggs 
Whisk eggs lightly 
Add yogurt 
Whisk again 
Sieve flour and baking powder 
Do the final mixing
The mixture for these doughnuts should be thicker that cake mixture but lighter than a bread dough. This is the best description I can make. This is a pretty straightforward recipe and does not require too much of a mess in the kitchen. You do not even need a whisker; a fork will be enough for mixing.
Use a skillet to fry. Oil should be enough so that the lokma can float in it. Once the mixture is ready and your oil is somewhat warm, wet a tablespoon in the oil and take a spoonful of dough and place it in your oil pot. Gently pat in the middle to make sure the very middle is also cooked. You can fry several doughnuts a time but make sure they do not touch each other. Gently flip sides when browned.
As you have to fry these doughnuts you might think that it is something too heavy and oily. However, you will be surprised that these doughnuts hardly soak up any oil and much lighter that they look or sound. So try and enjoy, do not forget to post your pictures or comments below.
If you have enjoyed this recipe, you might also be interested in Baked Bread with Cheese Spread which is also a yummy member of the famous Turkish Breakfast.
Salty Fried Bread Lokma/Pişi
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 200 grams plain yogurt
- 10 grams baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 200-250 grams flour
- liquid oil to fry
Instructions
- Break the eggs, whisk slightly.
- Add the yogurt, mix again.
- Sieve the flour. Then add slowly while mixing. Add also the salt and the baking powder at the same time.
- Add enough flour to obtain a mixture which is slightly thicker than cake mixture, but lighter than a bread dough.
- Use a deep pot. Add the liquid oil. Heat it slightly. Should not be too hot or you will have the doughnuts too crusty on the outside and not cooked in the inside.
- Add a spoon full of the dough press the middle to make it thinner in the middle, you can even choose to make a hole in the middle. This is done to make sure the middle part gets cooked too.
- Make sure they do not touch each other. You can fry several at a time, turn sides to make brownish on all sides .
- If the oil gets too hot and starts cooking too fast reduce the heat slightly.
- Serve while still warm. Goes perfect with tea, cheese, jam or honey. Enjoy.
Notes
Interested in more recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Curious about what tools I have used? Check my shop page.