Turkish Pide

Pide is the Turkish version of pizza. Turkish flat bread stuffed with a variety of toppings, including cheese, spiced meat and spinach. In Turkey Pide is a street food and its origins date back to Ottoman Empire. Pide is a crowd pleaser, you can choose your toppings and customise your pide the way you like. Make vegetarian pide or load it with meat.

For Aussies Pide, Gozleme and Doner Kebabs are favourite snacks and takeaway. I have had fair share of pide from takeaway shop but homemade pide is clearly a winner. I have created 3 fillings Spiced Lamb, Spinach and Mushroom and Cheese with egg.

^{HOW TO MAKE TURKISH PIDE}

It not a scary recipe as it appears to be. A simple dough along with filling of you choice. I will provide step by step recipe for making all the fillings. Watch Video for details

1.Pide Dough

The dough is the most important part of this recipe. It needs to be prepared and allowed to rest twice. The 2 important things to remember use warm water, hot water kills the yeast and cold water doesn’t allow it to rise. Secondly find a warm place for the dough to rise, near the stove, sunny place near window or inside the microwave.

The dough requires Flour, yeast, oil, salt and sugar. You can use stand mixer or use hands to prepare the dough. Allow it to rise for around 2 hours. Knead the dough for 5 minutes untill its smooth. This recipe is enough for 3 large pide, i made 2 large and 2 smaller ones. Divide the dough into parts accordingly and shape it into the balls. At this stage cover them with tea towel and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.

2.Fillings

One common ingredient for all types of pizza is cheese. If you want to do it authentic way use Turkish cheese called Kasar. But if its unavailable, Mozzarella works perfectly.

Spiced Lamb Filling – Lamb mince is traditional and Lamb Pide is also known as Kiymali Pide. However you can substitute it with beef. Sauté onions and add mince along with garlic and ginger. The spices including Salt, cumin powder and paprika go in next. Add peppers ( either capsicum or cayenne peppers if you prefer chilli) lastly add crushed tomatoe. Its important to cook mince properly so water from mince and tomatoes dries up. The last thing you would want is soggy pide.

Spinach & Mushrooms – This is great if you prefer vegetarian option. Sautee onions with mushrooms and add chopped spinach leaves ( no stems). Season with salt, chilli flakes and black pepper.

Egg & cheese – This is the easiest and quickest one. Layer cheese on dough and bake it for 15 minutes. Crack and egg and back for another 5 minutes untill egg white is set. Season it with sumac.

ASSEMBLY AND BAKING

Using a rolling pin roll out the dough into oval shape. Sprinkle the baking tray with semolina, it prevents pide from sticking. Alternatively line the tray with baking paper. Lift the rolled base and place it on the tray. Put cheese on it leaving around 2 cm on each side. Spoon out the filling evenly. Brush the edges with water. Pinch the corners and make a pointy corner. Fold over the sides and press it gently. Bake them in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or untill pide are golden on edges.

I like to brush the pide with melted butter once out of oven. It gives a nice shine and makes pide look pretty 😁 It also keep the pide soft and obviously butter makes everything tastes better !

WATCH HOW TO MAKE TURKISH PIDE

OPTIONAL GARNISH

The pide can be enjoyed as it is straight from oven. Following are some garnish ideas, they are completely optional, use them according to your own taste:

• Drizzle some olive oil
• Garnish with some chopped coriander/cilantro
• Sprinkle some crumbed fetta.
• Sprinkle oregano, sesame or sumac.

OTHER TURKISH RECIPES TO TRY:

Turkish Adana Kebabs

Turkish Chicken Doner Kebab

Spinach & Cheese Gozleme

Turkish Pide

Turkish version of pizza, popular street food – flat bread stuffed with a variety of toppings, including cheese, spiced meat and spinach.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Dough Resting Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine turkish

Servings 6 Serves

Ingredients

  

Dough

• 2½ Cups Plain Flour
• 7 g Yeast ( 1 Sachet)
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Warm Water

Spiced Lamb Filling

• 500 g Lamb or Beef Mince
• 1 Small Onion Chopped
• 1 tsp Garlic
• 1 tsp Ginger
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 2 Peppers ( Capsicum or Cayenne)
• ½ cup Crushed Tomatoes ( canned or fresh)
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp Paprika
• ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese

Spinach & Mushrooms

• 1 Small Onion (Chopped)
• 2 cups Chopped Spinach Leaves
• 1 cup Sliced Mushrooms
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Chilli Flakes
• ⅙ tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese

Egg and Cheese

• ½ cup Mozarella Cheese
• 1 Egg

Instructions

 

Dough

• In a small cup add yeast, sugar and 2 tbsp warm water. Cover and allow the yeast to get foamy for 5 minutes.
• For this step you can use stand mixer or knead the dough with hands. Add flour in a large mixing bowl and add salt, oil and yeast. Gradually add water untill dough comes together. Knead it untill it comes together.
• Brush oil in the bowl, put the dough in it. Cover with cling and allow it to rise in a warm place for 2 hrs.
• Once the dough has doubled up in volume, sprinkle dry flour onto clean surface. Knead the dough for 5 minutes untill smooth. It should spring back when touched.
• This dough is enough for 3 large pides or 2 large and 2 small. Divide the dough according to your choice.
• Roll the dough into balls and cover with tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour onto a clean surface and using a rolling pin roll the balls into oval shape.
• On a baking tray sprinkle semolina, it prevents pide from sticking to the tray. Alternatively line it with baking paper.
• Lift the rolled flat bread and carefully place it on prepared tray.

Spiced Lamb Filling

• In a pan heat oil and add chopped onions. Sautee onions and add mince. Break it using the spoon.
• Add ginger and garlic and cook untill water evaporates from mince.
• Add salt, paprika and cumin, mix it. Add chopped peppers and tomatoe puree. Cook for 5 minutes. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
• The mince should be dry with no moisture left from tomatoes to prevent soggy pide.
• Allow it to cool down.

Spinach & Mushrooms

• In a pan heat oil and Sautee chopped onions and mushrooms. Cook for a minute. Add chopped spinach leaves and cook for another minute.
• Sprinkle salt, chilli flakes and black pepper. Mix and cook untill wilted.
• Allow it to cool

Assembly and Baking

• Preheat oven to 240 ° C.
• Spread cheese on rolled flat bread leaving 2 cm on each side.
• Spread choice your filling on top of cheese. Brush the edges with water. Pinch the corners to seal them. Fold over the side and gently press to hold into the place.
• Leave some space between the pide if uisng same tray for baking as the pide will rise when baking.
• Place the tray in the middle and bake for around 20 minutes or untill the edges turn golden.
• Brush the pide edges with melted butter straight out from butter.
• For egg pide – Bake it with cheese only for 15 minutes. Take it out from oven and crack and egg. Bake it again for another 5 minutes untill egg white has cooked.