# Boyoz

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Boyoz
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Boyoz.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyoz
> Source revision: 1356007156
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Turkish pastry of Sephardic Jewish origin}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Boyoz
| image            = Boyoz gösterim.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| country          = [Turkey](/source/Turkey)
| creator          = [Sephardic Jewish](/source/Jews_of_Turkey)
| region           = [İzmir](/source/%C4%B0zmir)
| type             = [Pastry](/source/Pastry)
| main_ingredient  = [Flour](/source/Flour), [sunflower oil](/source/sunflower_oil), [tahini](/source/tahini)
}}

'''Boyoz''', or '''boyo''', is a pastry of [Sephardic Jewish](/source/Jews_of_Turkey) origin<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marks |first=Gil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&q=Boyoz#v=onepage&q=Boyo&f=false |title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food |date=2010-11-17 |publisher=HMH |isbn=978-0-544-18631-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="window" /> associated with İzmir, Turkey, where it is regarded as a characteristic local speciality.<ref name="fondaziones">{{cite web |title=Traditional Boyoz |url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/traditional-boyoz/ |website=Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity |publisher=Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Exploring Turkey's Jewish Delights |url=https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2023/03/14/exploring-turkeys-jewish-delights/ |website=Hadassah Magazine |publisher=Hadassah Magazine |date=2023-03-14 |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref> Widely identified with the city's culinary culture,<ref name="sabah">{{cite web |title=Boyoz: Izmir's flaky pastry of Sephardic origin |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/life/food/boyoz-izmirs-flaky-pastry-of-sephardic-origin |website=Daily Sabah |publisher=Daily Sabah |date=2022-03-20 |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref> it is commercially produced in İzmir and is officially registered as İzmir Boyozu as a geographical indication limited to the province of İzmir.<ref name="patent" /> Traditional descriptions of boyoz emphasize a simple layered dough; plain versions are common, although filled varieties are also documented.<ref name="sabah"/><ref name="fondaziones"/>

Boyoz paste is a mixture of [flour](/source/flour), [sunflower oil](/source/sunflower_oil), and a small amount of [tahini](/source/tahini). Originally, the recipe utilized [sesame oil](/source/sesame_oil).<ref name="fondaziones" /> It is kneaded by hand, and the ball of paste is left to rest for two hours. The paste is then flattened to the width of a dish and left to rest again. It is then kneaded and opened once more, before being formed into a roll and left to repose as such for a further period of several hours. When the tissue of the paste is still soft but about to detach into pieces, it is cut into small balls and put in rows of small pans and [marinate](/source/marinate)d in vegetable oil between half an hour and one hour. The paste then takes an oval form and acquires the consistency of a [millefeuille](/source/millefeuille). The small balls can then be put on a tray in a very high-temperature oven either in plain form or with fillings of cheese or spinach added inside.

The usual accompaniments for boyoz are dark tea and hard-boiled eggs generously sprinkled with [black pepper](/source/black_pepper). Boyoz is generally consumed outdoors, and purchased from street vendors. In İzmir, boyoz is also sold at traditional "gevrekçi" street stalls — small breakfast kiosks that serve freshly baked pastries in the morning.<ref>{{Cite web |title=İzmir sokak lezzetleri durakları: Şehrin meşhur tatları |url=https://www.egeligazete.com/haber/izmir-sokak-lezzetleri-duraklari-sehrin-meshur-tatlari/211090 |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Egeli Gazete |language=Turkish}}</ref> The İzmir Boyoz Festival is an annual public event held in celebration of the pastry as part of the city's cultural identity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=İzmir Boyozu {{!}} KÜRE Encyclopedia |url=https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/izmir-boyozu-e1830 |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=kureansiklopedi.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=İzmir BOYOZ Festivali’nde izdiham |url=https://www.salom.com.tr/arsiv/haber/82332/izmir-boyoz-festivalinde-izdiham- |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=Şalom Gazetesi |language=tr}}</ref>

==Origin==
The word ''boyoz'' is the plural of the [Ladino](/source/Judaeo-Spanish) word ''boyo'', cognate with the Spanish word [bollo](/source/bollo), meaning "a small and round pastry, a bun", itself derived from the [Latin](/source/Latin) ''bulla'', meaning "a round object, a bubble, or a ball."<ref>{{Cite web |title=boyoz |url=https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/kelime/boyoz |access-date=2026-04-03 |website=Nişanyan Sözlük |language=tr}}</ref>

Many sources associate boyoz with the Sephardic Jewish heritage of İzmir.<ref name="patent">{{cite web|title=No: 268 – Mahreç İşareti: İzmir Boyozu|url=https://ci.turkpatent.gov.tr/files/geographicalsigns/00c1de5f-319a-4a07-9fa2-0e850a39fd5a.pdf|website=Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu|publisher=Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu|language=tr|date=2017-12-08|access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Jews of Ottoman Izmir|url=https://www.sup.org/books/jewish-studies/jews-ottoman-izmir |website=Stanford University Press|publisher=Stanford University Press|access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref><ref name="window">{{cite journal|last1=Goldstein-Sabbah|first1=Sasha|last2=Farias Garcia|first2=Lucia|last3=Heijman|first3=Maxime|last4=Whitcombe|first4=William|last5=Gordon|first5=Michel|editor-first1=Sasha |editor-last1=Goldstein |title=Life & Legacy: A Window into Jewish Life Across the Islamic World|journal=Visions of the Middle East and North Africa|publisher=University of Groningen Press|year=2023|number=1|doi=10.21827/6458c72616bed|page=102|doi-access=free |isbn=978-94-034-3020-1 }}</ref> Sephardic Jews were [expelled from Spain in 1492](/source/Expulsion_of_Jews_from_Spain) and settled in various parts of the Ottoman Empire,<ref>{{cite web|title=Judaism: Marginalization and expulsion|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism/Marginalization-and-expulsion|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.|access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sephardi|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sephardi|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.|access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref> where they introduced the pastry to İzmir's urban culture.<ref name="sabah" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sabah |first=Daily |date=2016-12-24 |title=Boyoz: A Sephardic Jewish pastry from Turkey's west |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/food/2016/12/24/boyoz-a-sephardic-jewish-pastry-from-turkeys-west |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=Daily Sabah |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-15 |title=İzmir’s Judeo-Spanish pastry boyoz to open up beyond borders |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/izmirs-judeo-spanish-pastry-boyoz-to-open-up-beyond-borders-106145 |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |language=en}}</ref> İzmir later emerged as an important Sephardic center.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Jews of Ottoman Izmir: Excerpt from Introduction|url=https://www.sup.org/books/jewish-studies/jews-ottoman-izmir/excerpt/excerpt-introduction|website=Stanford University Press|publisher=Stanford University Press|access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref> İzmir boyozu is officially recognized as a historic local pastry produced in the city since the Ottoman period.<ref name="patent" /> Related Sephardic pastries known as boyos are also documented in Judeo-Spanish food traditions, often with cheese or spinach fillings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spinach and Feta Boyos|url=https://www.jewishfoodsociety.org/recipes/spinach-and-feta-boyos|website=Jewish Food Society|publisher=Jewish Food Society|date=2024-01-08|access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
* [Bollos](/source/Bollos)
* [List of pastries](/source/List_of_pastries)

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited sources ==
* [http://www.eatinizmir.com/trademark-tastes-of-izmir-1 Trademark Tastes of Izmir]

{{Jewish baked goods}}
{{Pastries}}

Category:İzmir
Category:Jewish baked goods
Category:Jewish cuisine
Category:Sephardi Jewish cuisine
Category:Jews and Judaism in İzmir
Category:Turkish pastries
Category:Turkish words and phrases

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Boyoz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyoz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyoz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.