An Anatolian puzzle asks, “What is God’s wisdom and man’s blessing?” The answer bread.

Anatolians call bread blessing. That is because their genes are practically infused with crops, wheat and bread here, in one of the earliest agricultural regions of the world. Bread feeds rich anda poor alike, ruler and ruled alike; it is a favour. It is the offering made to appease th gods when they fly into a rage, and to thank them for a good crop. A Jew’s bread offering to God must be unleavened. To a Christian, bread is Jesus. To a Muslim, it is sacred, sacred enough to kiss and place on the forehead should it ever fall on the floor. Bread, which differs in type and baking methods according to ages, regions and lifestyles, is also a cultural asset. And bread is the just recompense for the sweat of our brow. We all know that as bread loaves shrink, so do we grow unhappier.

“Blessing th Grain – Turkey’s Breads” is a new journey that carries the author and his reader to new horizons in our culture, following Artun Ünsal’s adventures in researching Anatolia’s cheeses, olives and and olive oils. The story of bread here in Turkey, one of the highest consumers of grain per capita in the world, and home to hundreds of types of bread, cried out to be told. Artun Ünsal and Murat Germen’s exploration of the Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, and Mediterranean regions as well as Eastern, Southeastern and Central Anatolia, tell us not only the story of Turkey’s breads but also Turkey itself, and its people too.