Grape leaves: Dolma from Simurgh Bakery

While a dolma can technically be any leaf, vegetable or fruit that's filled and rolled, most Americans are familiar with the rice-stuffed grape leaf known in Turkey as sarma. This tangy finger food was first recorded in ancient Greece, eventually finding its way to Eastern Europe and Western Asia, riding on the winds of the expanding Ottoman Empire. As the dolma traveled, its ingredients changed to reflect the terrain.

Hatice Yaldiz, a Turkish historianturned-bakery owner, is transforming her catering business Simurgh Bakery into a brick-and-mortar cafe on San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville, planning to open the doors this month.

Yaldiz will happily expound on the regional variations of the dolma. She was born in northwestern Turkey, yet her cooking embraces other influences, drawing on overlapping flavors from the Balkans in the West, to Azerbaijan to the east. Her favorite dolma is from her mother's homeland in the northeast near the Black Sea, where ground meat is rolled in fresh green bean vine leaves and served warm with yogurt. Swerve a little more to the east and you'll find dolmas enrobed in linden and sorrel leaves.

“The whole idea with our cafe is to represent as much as possible the common food and unity shared by all people living in that region,” says Yaldiz.

Yaldiz's dolma recipe fills California-grown grape leaves with rice, pomegranate molasses, currants, cinnamon, pine nuts and lemon juice, drenching them in local extravirgin olive oil. You can find Yaldiz's treats at the Kensington and Lake Merritt farmers' markets, the San Francisco Ferry Building and soon at her bakery, along with new offerings like fresh-baked Turkishstyle bagels and pita bread. 4125 San Pablo Ave., Emeryville. www.simurghbakery.com

Simurgh Bakery in Richmond fills California-grown grape leaves with rice, pomegranate molasses, currants, pine nuts and lemon juice.

Hatice Yaldiz, a Turkish historian-turned-bakery owner, rolls dolmas at Simurgh.