Place 3 cleaned and washed sea bream on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Score both sides (front and back) with a knife. Brush vegetable oil all over each fish. After oiling, sprinkle salt and black pepper on top and rub them in by hand. Place a bay leaf inside each of the scored slits. (1 bay leaf per fish.) Bake in the oven at 200°C (390°F) until golden brown.

About This Recipe

Commonly known as Çipura… This fish belongs to the Sparidae family. It is most commonly found along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts of Turkey. Sea bream has white, firm, low-bone flesh and is remarkably flavorful.

Characteristics of Sea Bream

*Research on the fish's diet has found that it feeds on animals from the Crustacea and Mollusca families.
*Due to its particularly strong jaw structure, it can easily consume certain fish and other creatures. It is a carnivorous species.
*Sea bream has been clearly noted to have a symmetrical dorsal and body structure.
*The head region is slightly large, and the nose is blunt in shape. The mouth is straight and terminally positioned.
*According to the structure of its teeth, sea bream has 4 teeth at the front of the lower jaw, 4 rows at the back, and 4 teeth at the front of the upper jaw with 3 rows at the back.
*The upper lips of the sea bream are thicker compared to its lower lips.
*Its eyes are moderately developed. Between the eyes there is a band resembling a V shape.
*The breeding season is between October and December. During this period, they lay between 100,000 and 150,000 eggs.
*On warmer days, they live in shallow waters, and when temperatures drop — especially in winter — they inhabit depths of around 30 to 40 meters. After the age of two, they prefer deeper waters.
*On average, their length ranges between 25 and 35 centimeters. In terms of weight, they range between 0.5 and 3 kilograms.
*One of the most interesting facts about sea bream is that they are protandric hermaphrodites — meaning they are born only as females. Sea bream that reach the age of 3–4 can later develop male characteristics.

Today's recipe is sure to please sea bream lovers (and who doesn't love it?). Just as delicious and healthy as our Sea Bream with Potatoes recipe — and wonderfully fragrant too; welcome to the kitchen for our Bay Leaf Sea Bream recipe. Bon appétit in advance…