Name:

Fatma

Surname:

Samanci

Country:

Turkey

Region:

Istanbul

Biography:


Fatma Samancı, 67 years old, originated from Konya, a city in Central Anatolia. In Konya pastries are very much in demand and prepared quite a lot. Like katmer, layered pastries, pies and varieties of baklava have remained in Fatma’s mind since childhood. Since Konya is the region for wheat, flour was abundant in every household, in gunny sacks. Katmer is a pastry dessert mostly baked in rural areas of Konya. Before going into the fields, peasants baked katmer and other pastries because they were easy to make and eat. Fatma Samancı remembers that her aunt used to bake it in her village. Since there were no ovens in the past in homes, katmer was baked on a metal plate or copper pan. She learnt how to make pastries from her father. She used to bake bread with him in an oven built by him. He was the first one to let her roll filo pastry. In Konya, katmer is often baked during the month of Ramadan at home. Bakeries also bake it before the breaking of the fast and sell it. In the past, it was not really sought after and was an ordinary dish, but nowadays it is attracting attention in Istanbul as a different flavour, especially if it is made with tahini.