Pide – Turkish Flatbread or Pizza
Ever since I came to Germany, I completely fell in love with Turkish food. I find Turkish restaurants absolutely amazing and the food is delicious. One of the first things I tried was pide, which is a type of flatbread with a distinctive boat-like shape and is typically topped with a variety of ingredients, such as cheese, meats, and vegetables.
My variation today contains minced meat and cheese, exactly like the one I had at the restaurant.
Pide has a rich history dating back to ancient times when it was consumed by nomadic tribes who roamed the Anatolian region. Over the centuries, the bread has evolved and become an integral part of Turkish culture, with each region and city developing its own unique variations.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Now I'll give you some notes about this recipe. After researching and testing more recipes and trying it at a restaurant too, I decided this is the best version. As I have used beef, this dish will be really heavy, as ass the fat from the beef will drip into the bread, making it super tasty! If you want to mind your calories, I would suggest you to try cooking half of the quantity of beef in a pan, strain the meat to remove the fat and mix it with the other half and the rest of the ingredients for the filling. You will need some raw meat because you need to spread it somehow on the flatbread, if you cook all the meat completely it will also become dry in the oven and it will be difficult to spread it on the pide. If you are vegetarian, you can fill them with cheese or a combination of types of cheese and spinach. The possibilities are endless!
- 250 g făină
- 4 g instant dry yeast
- 0.5 tsp sare
- 150 ml apă (adjust the quantity according to your flour)
- 250 g vită tocată
- 1 Pcs roșie (tăiat mărunt)
- 1 Pcs ceapă (tăiat mărunt)
- salt and pepper as per taste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- some chopped parsley (I used coriander because I don't like parsley)
- some grated cheese of your choice (optional - ideally if you can find Kashar, a Turkish type of cheese, but mozzarella is also fine)
- Making the dough
Start by making the dough. Mix the flour, yeast and salt together in a bowl. Pour the water and knead until you get a soft dough. Cover with plastic foil and let it rise for 45 minutes (ideally transfer the dough to a bowl which you have oiled a little as the dough will stick to the bottom otherwise).
- Filling
For the filling, you just have to mix all the ingredients together except cheese. Set aside.
- Forming the pide
After 45 minutes, divide the dough into 2 equal parts and dust your work surface with a little bit of flour. Roll the 2 parts one by one in a sort of long stripe. It should look like a boat once you fold the margins, so just imagine you will have to roll a very long oval shape (see my reel for further details). Once the dough is rolled, add a couple of spoons of the filling, then press it in an equal layer with your hands. Fold the margins of the dough over the filling on the sides and cut the excess on top. Sprinkle some cheese over the top and bake them for 25 minutes at 180 degrees. After taking them out, rub some butter on the sides until it melts.
Enjoy! You won't be able to stop!