The bakery was built the same year the Turkish Republic was founded, and seemingly to ensure that no one would forget this fact, you can see “1923” carved in stone on the face of the building in both Latin and Arabic numerals. And this is not just for show; it is the marking of the year the building was constructed, in a city where we see things like “since 1984” proclaimed on signs and storefronts all over the place.As you may have guessed, the first owners of this bakery were Greek. Until 1960, these original owners were busy baking crunchy breadsticks for their Greek neighbors, living happily in their district. But in later years, like so many other parts of İstanbul, the tone and flavor of Balat changed and the Greek residents left for the most part, with immigrants from Anatolia taking over their homes and businesses. One of the new Balat residents who arrived in the wake of the departure of many of the Greeks was Mehmet Evin from Karabük, who came with his daughter, Derya. He runs this stone oven bakery now with his fellow villagers Cemil and Burhan Usta in a way that would make the original Greek owners proud. The building still stands as it first did, with a sign outside that says "Evin Unlu Mamulleri," although there is now also a bakery right across the street where hungry customers can devour their freshly baked goods accompanied by a hot cup of tea if they wish. The bakery has old and new customers from the neighborhood, in addition to people who flow in from spots as far as Kadıköy, Bostancı and even from islands in the Sea of Marmara. The fame of the crunchy breadsticks you can get here has spread so far that this bakery even packs up 50, sometimes 100 of its crunchy breadstick to head off for Büyükada.
So, while bread is generally the first thing that comes to mind when we think of bakeries like this one in Balat, the truth is, they are really famous for their breadsticks. But it is not enough for us to tell you this; you really must treat yourself to a hot cup of tea accompanied by a fresh, crunchy breadstick baked in their historic stone oven. One of the notable characteristics of these breadsticks is that they are handmade. Cemil Usta, pointing to the two ends of a breadstick, says, “If these had been produced not by hand but by machine, the two ends would be completely the same.” And these breadsticks are also decidedly different from their counterparts on the market in that they are made from natural ingredients -- flour, water, yeast and sesame -- and have the delicious, earthy aroma of a stone oven. And speaking of that stone oven, it's important to catch a moment with Burhan Usta, who has been waiting by the mouth of this oven for the past half-century with wooden paddles he uses to put bread into the oven and take it out when it is done. He has just put 20 trays of breadsticks into the oven, one right after the other, and is now waiting. And he knows this business so well that he never needs a clock; he just innately knows when things are ready. The secret to this job is no doubt patience, as well as experience and care. An extra two minutes can mean a scorched tray of breadsticks, and stone ovens do not burn at the same rate and temperature every day, but there is no one like Burhan Usta when it comes to understanding this business.
