{"id":108870,"date":"2025-05-17T11:15:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T11:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/108870\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T11:15:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T11:15:29","slug":"the-family-run-greater-manchester-bakery-hidden-on-an-industrial-estate-serving-up-recipes-from-thousands-of-miles-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/108870\/","title":{"rendered":"The family-run Greater Manchester bakery hidden on an industrial estate serving up recipes from thousands of miles away"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bakery and cafe is wedged between a tyre shop and vehicle repair unit and sells pastries, cakes and traditional Turkish dishes\"TuckedTucked away on a Salford industrial estate there’s a new bakery selling Turkish treats (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Melike has always enjoyed baking. It\u2019s something she picked up at a young age growing up in Turkey from family members like her grandma who loved nothing more than cooking for the people she loved.<\/p>\n

Though she was a primary school teacher in her home of Malatya, Mel moved to the UK with her husband Oguz – formerly a dentist – around four years ago with their children to create a new life and follow one for her dreams of opening her own business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came for our children\u2019s education,\u201d she says, busying herself around the kitchen in a former warehouse building on a Salford<\/a> industrial estate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to give them a good future so we are trying our best. As you can imagine with the space, there was a lot to do, and we converted everything ourselves,\u201d she says gesturing to the cafe beyond.<\/p>\n

The bakery, known as Mayya, meaning yeast or leaven in Turkish, is wedged between a tyre shop and vehicle repair unit on Duncan Street, just beyond Regent Road.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe bakery, known as Mayya, meaning yeast or leaven in Turkish, is wedged between a tyre shop and vehicle repair unit on Duncan Street, just beyond Regent Road(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

It officially opened in December 2024 and sells a range of freshly baked breads, bagels, and Turkish delicacies along with pastries, custom-made cakes and breakfast dishes. There\u2019s a range of coffees, including properly brewed Turkish brews, teas, juices and smoothies too.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that it\u2019s hard to find, in fact there\u2019s a sign just outside the petrol station on the main road, and it\u2019s only a two-minute walk from the retail park, but it definitely has that undiscovered gem quality to it.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s because Mel and Oguz are not shouting too loud about it. Besides, with just the two of them, it\u2019s all hands on deck.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s just us, I bake in small batches, so when it\u2019s gone, it\u2019s gone,\u201d she smiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on an industrial estate so I wanted to keep things simple to reflect where we are too.<\/p>\n

\"MayyaMayya Bakery in Salford (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve kept some things and done a lot of work on a budget. I love being creative too and I want the space to reflect that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As you walk into the bakery, you can see how Mel has tried to keep the unit feeling industrial while also adding some softer touches with the colour scheme and decor.<\/p>\n

Warm shades have been used, and the main counter area boasts a contemporary light pink colour, which is pronounced by the pendant lighting above – drawing your eyes to the glass cabinet full of pastries and bakes.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s not many places to sit, perhaps enough for ten people if you squash in, there\u2019s beautiful little nooks with artwork on the wall and embroidered cushions to soften the aesthetic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe location is perhaps a little weird for some people but you know what, in these times, everybody wants to discover somewhere new don\u2019t they, like a hidden gem.<\/p>\n

\"CrispyCrispy and golden, these savoury Anatolian flatbreads are simple but delicious and made with just flour, salt and water before being packed full of fillings(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have started sharing it on social media with their videos and I really do appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the counter is freshly stocked with beautiful brownies, freshly baked cookies and truly massive varieties of cinnamon buns, it\u2019s the Turkish recipes here that are by far the most interesting and flavoursome.<\/p>\n

\u2018Gozzies\u2019 as they\u2019re listed on the board are known in Turkey as G\u00f6zleme. Crispy and golden, these savoury Anatolian flatbreads are simple but delicious and made with just flour, salt and water before being packed full of fillings.<\/p>\n

At Mayya, Mel fills them with spinach, feta and onions, or sometimes minced beef or potatoes, before folding them up into a triangle and cooking on the stove. When ready she roughly chops them up into strips and serves fresh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also do a dish called Menemen, which is a little like shakshuka and includes eggs, tomato, peppers and spices. In Turkey, every weekend starts with this dish. It means a lot to me, I have lots of memories around it.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe counter is stocked full of sweet treats including cinnamon buns, babka and brownies (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve kept things nice and simple, the recipe is like how my mum and grandma made it. We also make simit bagels.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow these are very special for Turkish people, you can have it as street food and it\u2019s a bagel coated in sesame seeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mel also serves up popular brunch dishes like Turkish eggs (\u00a39), as well as avocado on toast with eggs (\u00a39), cheese toasties made with her sourdough (\u00a37.90) and a Turkish breakfast (\u00a312.90) with traditional sausages and other accompaniments.<\/p>\n

Customers can also buy whole loaves of bread (\u00a34.50) in white and wholemeal varieties as well as pastries and cakes such as triple chocolate cookies (\u00a32.50), chocolate cream and vanilla cake (\u00a32.50), slices of Basque cheesecake (\u00a34), chocolate and hazelnut babka (\u00a33.50), and a range of cinnamon buns and rolls from \u00a33.50.<\/p>\n

Going forward, Mel is hoping to be able to source some apricot jam from the region she is from in Turkey, describing that as \u201cher dream\u201d. She also hopes people try pastries like the cardamom buns, which she reckons are particularly good.<\/p>\n

\"TurkishTurkish coffee served at Mayya Bakery in Salford (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

While Mel enjoyed being a teacher, she says heading up her own bakery here in Salford gives her a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I wake up in the morning, I\u2019m happy to go to work, but when I was a teacher, I didn\u2019t always want to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am exhausted and it\u2019s a lot of long days, with baking at night, but I am just so happy here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayya Bakery is located at 32-34 Duncan Street, Salford, M5 3SQ. Hours are 8am until 4pm every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The bakery and cafe is wedged between a tyre shop and vehicle repair unit and sells pastries, cakes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,8829,2465,8827,1290,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-108870","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-m-e-n-explore","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-cafes","14":"tag-salford","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114522890282941358","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}