Turkuaz Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Dough Recipes for Sweet and Savory Bakes

by Betül Tunç

In her first cookbook, social media star and baker Bëtul Tunç of Turkuaz Kitchen shows us how to create sweet and savory doughs and offers 75 recipes on how to use them in main meals and desserts.

Betül Tunç's love affair with dough began when she was just eight years old in Erzurum, a city nestled in northeastern Turkey known for its long and snowy winters. During the dark, frosty days, she found solace baking Turkish breads and desserts with her mother and sisters.

Betül's enthusiasm for baking, especially for creating sweet and savory doughs from scratch, followed her through her eventual move to the U.S. and the expansion of her family. While searching for a creative outlet to share her cooking in her new home, Betül began creating vintage-style videos on Instagram, garnering an audience that grew rapidly with each personal post she shared.

In Turkuaz Kitchen, her first cookbook, Betül shares eighty-five recipes for sweet and savory doughs and the dishes to make with them. With inspiration from traditional Turkish recipes, as well as recipes she discovered in her travels, Turkuaz Kitchen is a treasure trove of recipes for:

Basic Doughs: such as bagels, pita, ciabatta, and pizza dough
Enriched Doughs: such as croissants, cardamom buns, buttermilk dinner rolls, and burger buns
Quick Breads and Short Doughs: such as pie and tart dough, scones, biscuits, and biscotti
Unleavened Doughs: such as pastas, noodles, and dumplings
Doughs from Turkey: such as Turkish style phyllo, Turkish Pistachio Baklava, Spinach Triangle Borek, and Grandma's Lavash

Cooking for loved ones has always been one of Betül's greatest joys. With warm, achievable, and inspiring recipes for cooks of all skill levels, Turkuaz Kitchen invites readers into the kitchen to create their own food memories with those they cherish most.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, International, Culinary, Christmas

288 pages, Hardcover

Published November 5, 2024

Reviews

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cookbook from a social media star. This one is artistically done with the photos bringing to mind paintings of both victorian pastries and Vermeer's domestic scenes. All elements of recipes are prepared from scratch, making them a bit complex and better suited for cooks with some experience.

The last chapter focuses on Turkish recipes but the remainder of the book offers up a global melange of ones we have largely come across before. Fans of the author and cooks who appreciate taking the time to make all components of their meals from scratch will likely enjoy this book most.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is as beautiful as her Instagram posts, but way less intimidating

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really beautiful cookbook that very much matches the aesthetic and content of her social media presence. The recipes are definitely on the more labor-intensive side, though I would say she does tone them down a bit from her videos -- while she mentions that she usually makes her own hot dogs for the recipe that features them, she doesn't provide it or expect that readers would be doing the same. An excellent example for the kind of labor-intensive baking that mixes modern with traditional.

[Heather Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning!! I’ve been following Betül for a long time now and her book is incredible. She put her heart and soul into this cookbook. Beautiful!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some standard recipes, some new. Some standard with Mediterranean twist. Most use normal pantry items. Easy to understand instructions. Most importantly, the ones I tried are delicious.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still working my way through the recipes in this beautiful book, but having now made several of the recipes I think I can leave a starting review. All the items I’ve made have had easy to follow directions, turned out well, and tasted good. I think our family favorite thus far is the zucchini cream cheese biscuits. I also enjoyed the deep dish quiche, pumpkin scones, and cramique (chocolate brioche).

The classic from scratch recipes are maybe not ground breaking, but they are solid so far in my experience. I’m not one to want to make recipes that are extremely complex or with expensive or difficult to find ingredients. This is an approachable baking cookbook. Maybe not ideal for a novice baker, but certainly for an experienced home baker.

Definitely will continue making many more of these recipes!

[Jeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

caveat: I haven't actually baked anything from this yet, so review is just based on reading through the book and some of the recipes.

To say the least, this is a gorgeous book--beautifully shot and, true to the author's Instagram, imbued with that old world feel.

I was disappointed in the choice of recipes, though. You can find similar recipes in most dough-centric cookbooks; having lived in Turkey for 5 years, I was hoping for something a bit more original and Turkish-forward. I do want to try her recipe sfor simit and (I forget what she called it, but it was a pide-looking bread with egg). Some of the best bread I've ever eaten was in Turkey, and I was looking forward to more of that, rather than yet another recipe for croissants and cream puffs.

[Darlene LaCroix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I follow Betul Tunc on Instagram and love the warmth of her posts. She is an artist and I couldn't wait to have my hands on this cookbook. It has many of the recipes from her Instagram account that I love and have reproduced a few. Her instructions are clear and well thought out. And of course, everything is delicious. I do have one suggestion, however: I wish on each recipe she had printed the date of the original Instagram post. That way you have a visual tutorial that coincides with the recipes. Other than that, wonderful cookbook!

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always wary of books written by social media influencers and I avoid them for the most part. However, I had tried a few recipes from Betul's Instagram and I was confident they worked well (which is not always a given with Instagram cooks...).

I'm happy to say that the book is well written and recipes I tried also turned out perfectly. The pizza dough I make almost every week (I usually alternate with a recipe from someone else) and it's one of my favourites. If you're on the fence about the book, I genuinely recommend it.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful cookbook, but the recipes within all require an awful lot of time and effort. I got it from the library and ultimately returned it without making a single recipe because I couldn't imagine spending the time required to make any of them. Also, I was hoping for many more Turkish recipes! The book only contains a small handful at the end and is otherwise a selection of recipes from a variety of backgrounds.

... oh, and if your recipe has eggs in it, it's not vegan.

[Antonia Bartoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This recipe book is trying to figure out what exactly it wants to be with a hodge-podge of baked goods (sweet and savory) that don’t all quite make sense together.

Absolutely love the multi-seed sandwich bread but other than that I’ve found most of the recipes underwhelming. All the sweets are far too sweet and the author doesn’t seem to quite grasp how best to describe or use specific measurements.

[Romana ♥️🦢 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So insanely proud of Betül. I have been following her for years and I love all her videos. Her vibe is so calm and elegant and to have a book made by her is an honour. You can see the time and dedication she put into it and it reflects in this well crafted book. The photos, the floral design when you open the book, the photo quality , and her signature. Everything is perfect!

[Line · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have followed the author on Instagram for a while, and have been so excited to read, learn, love and explore her book. And so far, it has not disappointed! 🙏🏽 Wonderful recipes, where the author takes the reader (and baker) through memories and feelings. Can’t wait to go through these recipes and make them myself.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book with great photos. The first 2/3 of the book seemed like featured technical bakes from the Great British Bake Off. The last 1/3 of the book were traditional Turkish recipes.

Lovely book. When I retire, I will buy this and try several recipes! Hopefully, I'll get to Turkey before then and try several from the local bakeries!

[Maika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just makes me happy. Beautifully written, gorgeous pictures with easy to follow recipes. Although I’m Spanish and no Turkish somehow this book brings me back to my childhood. I also love that she explores international recipes.
I find myself reading it for fun with a cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

130:2025
More baking than I expected but I'm excited about this one. I love watching Tunc's videos and have tried several of her recipes. I was very interested to check out her cookbook. It is a great entry into Turkish food and for someone who loves to cook but is not an avid baker. The recipes aren't easy, per se, but very well detailed so they feel approachable.

[Maria V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recipes are incredible, I would buy this just for the donut recipe alone. There are no exotic ingredients needed, the recipes have clear instructions and the book itself is very beautiful, I love the style of the pictures a lot. I would say it's way more detailed than her instagram recipes, so it's worth it if you enjoy baked goods and desserts.

[Parisa Rahimian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have many cook books, but this one is one of my favourites by far. I have baked three (3) of the recipes so far and each one turned out better than the next. Purchase a kitchen scale and just follow her instructions. You will enjoy every bite!!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I truly want to make everything in this book. It’s beautifully photographed and the recipes look delicious. Wonderful!

[Carolina António · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely lovely book ❤️

[Becca Goodrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading cookbooks. I read them more than I actually cook/bake out of them.

[Rita L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and inspiring. Loved it.

[Brianna Egan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and so helpful. I've already tried out a few recipes and if the rest are half as good as these, this will be the best cookbook I've read in a long time.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't get to try nearly as many recipes as I wanted before I had to return this lovely book to the library, so I'll definitely revisit it and hopefully buy my own copy.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally review cookbooks but I received this one for Christmas after following Betul on Tiktok and I love it. Beautiful and so many wonderful recipes that are broken down into easy steps.

[Horrorlady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent recipes!!!

[Kristen Peirce · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunning book. The recipes are easy to follow and understand. I appreciate that she writes the ingredients in grams as well as cups as I'm trying to become more proficient in using grams.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book with a wonderful collection of recipes from a myriad of cuisines, including many from the author's own origins.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this lady's you tube videos and the recipes are spot on! I highly recommend this book!

[Bojana Lalic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!