Bağaça

Bağaça is a traditional pastry found only in the Antalya region, where it is closely tied to Ramadan. Although it resembles a large, flat bun or a dense, sweet cake, its texture and flavor set it apart. In Turkish, the person who bakes it is called a “Bağaçacı,” and the craft is handed down from master to apprentice across generations.

The dough contains flour, butter, sugar, tahini, sesame seeds, mastic, chickpea yeast, and cinnamon. Chickpea yeast, a naturally fermented ingredient, is the key to Bağaça’s soft, fluffy texture and easy digestibility. Pine mastic and cinnamon produce the distinctive, mouth-watering aroma that fills the streets when the pastries come out of a wood-fired oven. Tahini and butter contribute a rich, dense flavor, high nutritional value, and a lasting feeling of fullness. The top is generously coated with sesame seeds and peanuts—or sometimes almonds or walnuts—for a roasted crunch.

To prepare it, broken, soaked chickpeas are left to stand for half a day. Once the yeast is ready, it is mixed with water and flour. Enough tahini, butter, mastic, cinnamon, and sugar are then added to the dough. After resting, the dough is divided into weighed pieces, shaped into circles by hand on a marble countertop, and placed on wax paper in a pan. The pastries are raised again with butter, decorated with peanuts, almonds, and sesame seeds, and baked for ten minutes in a brick oven preheated with wood fire. After cooling, they are packed and sold.

In Antalya, the most famous and historic name associated with Bağaça is “18’in Bağaçası” (The Bağaça of 18). This legendary recipe was developed in the 1940s by baker Mustafa Zünbül, who named it after his primary school collar number, “18.” The original recipe and techniques have been carefully guarded and passed from father to son for generations. Today, the Zünbül family—specifically İdris and Mustafa (father and son, master and apprentice)—are the most important representatives of Bağaça. The business has been operating for three generations.