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Turkish Airlines Introduces The World’s Oldest Bread to Business Class Dining

Made with ingredients that date back 12,000 years, The Oldest Bread is now available on intercontinental flights

by Fergus Cole

September 24, 2024

Photo: Courtesy of Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines business class passengers can now have a taste of culinary history with ‘The Oldest Bread,’ a new in-flight snack made using an ancient recipe that dates back 12,000 years.

The Turkish flag carrier—widely renowned for its in-flight dining options— added the unique snack to its business class menu on September 22 on a transatlantic flight from Istanbul (IST) to New York (JFK). Not only chosen for its great taste, The Oldest Bread pays homage to Turkey’s culture and culinary traditions, helping to give its passengers an authentic taste of the country while in the air.

The Oldest Bread is made from a mixture of two ancient types of wheat – Einkorn and Emmer – that originate from the historic Turkish region of Anatolia.

Prepared by Turkish Airlines’ catering partner, Turkish DO&CO, and with help from award-winning chef Ömür Akkor and culinary historian Çetin Şenkul, the bread is freshly baked and served with warm butter and olive oil. It is available to all Turkish Airlines business class passengers on intercontinental flights out of Istanbul.

Photo: Courtesy of Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines has long been highly esteemed for its inflight dining options that showcase traditional Turkish cuisine and locally sourced ingredients. The airline also includes a ‘Flying Chef’ that freshly prepares meals onboard for premium passengers, while it also offers guests a chance to delve deeper into the country’s gastronomical delights with its renowned stopover program in Istanbul.

“As the flag carrier that offers the world’s finest flavors to its guests and receiving numerous accolades for it from renowned organizations, we are pleased to introduce our business class travelers to the world’s oldest bread grown from the reproduction of ancient wheat discovered in excavations in the Anatolia region,” said Ahmet Bolat, Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee.

“With this bread, traditional to Turkish cuisine and significant to global culinary history, we aim to blend the past and present together on our inflight guest experiences. We hope that our new menu item will be appreciated by our guests as we continue our award-winning leadership in the field of inflight dining.”

Business Class, Flying Chef service. Photo: Courtesy of Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines is one of the world’s largest international carriers, offering flights to hundreds of destinations across six continents. The airline currently serves 14 U.S. destinations with nonstop flights from Istanbul, including its latest service to Denver (DEN) that was launched in June. It plans to expand this number to 20 destinations in the coming months.