Gözleme

Gözleme is thin hand-rolled dough folded around a filling and cooked flat on a griddle until it blisters. It's Turkey's fast street-food flatbread, and unlike a baked pastry, it goes straight from the sac — the flat metal griddle it's named for cooking on — to the customer's hand within minutes of being rolled out.

What it actually is

A simple, unleavened dough rolls out by hand into a large, very thin round — thin enough to see shadows through it — then a filling, often cheese and spinach, spreads across half the circle before it folds over into a half-moon or rectangle. It cooks directly on a hot, flat metal griddle, brushed with butter, turned once, until both sides blister into golden, lightly charred patches and the filling melts and warms through.

It's rolled and cooked to order, not pre-made and reheated. A version assembled ahead and warmed up loses the specific texture of gözleme — a crisp, blistered exterior around a filling still hot from direct contact with the griddle, made in the few minutes between rolling and serving.

How it's served

• Hot, straight off the griddle, cut into wedges or strips.
• As street food, eaten by hand, often wrapped in paper.
• With whatever filling — cheese and spinach, potato, or minced meat — is chosen at the stall.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag gluten, and dairy if a cheese filling is used.
• Say which filling options are available, since the format stays the same but the filling varies widely.
• Note that it's made to order, rolled and cooked fresh rather than pre-assembled.
• Mention if a vegan filling is offered, since the classic version usually includes cheese or butter.