PIDE - TURKISH PIZZA
Makes around 12 (depending on size), Ready in 2+ hours
Turkish side with tomato, cheese, and spiced meat
When I first moved to London, I used to walk past this bakery every morning on the way to work, where there would be a guy in the window whipping these up! They always captured my attention but for whatever reason, I never made it through the door - so I was super excited to try this recipe out.
And what a success it was!
I love how simple this recipe is and how creative you can get with the toppings too. Here are some of the flavours I’ve created so far:
Kashkaval and feta cheese
Cheese and tomato
Spiced meat with cheese
Spinach and egg
Give it a try and let me know your favourite toppings!
Çesko helping to make the side - and of course LOADING them with toppings
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
900g strong white bread flour
Good pinch of salt
2x 7g sachets of instant yeast
700ml tepid water
Toppings - I’m leaving these open to you to choose how many of each flavour you’d like. If you want to ask about quantities though, feel free to message me:
Kashkaval cheese, grated
Feta cheese, crumbled
Baby plum tomatoes, chopped
Spiced mince meat
Spinach & egg (Use a small handful of spinach and 1 egg per pide)
Olive oil - to drizzle on top before baking in the oven
METHOD - PREPARING THE DOUGH
Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
Add the water and stir it into a smooth, wet dough.
Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
When the dough is ready, lightly flour your work surface, and portion it out into 12 equal balls.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees.
Roll the balls into long, oval shapes (rather than a traditional circle pizza shape).
Fold the 2 longest sides of the oval shape in towards the centre to create a sort of wall around the outside (this is to hold the filling in).
Then, twist each of the ends of the pide to seal them together.
Once you have moved to pide to a lightly oiled baking tray, add your toppings into the space between the little walls you have made around the sides.
Then put the pide into the oven and cook until the toppings are melted and the dough is golden. Depending on the size of your pide, and how much you’ve packed your toppings on there - this can take around 12 - 20 minutes.
When they’re ready, take them out of the oven and enjoy hot!
EXTRA METHOD - FOR EGG & SPINACH FLAVOUR
Follow steps 1 - 10 from above, adding only your spinach and cheese (if using) to the pide at first, before putting them in the oven.
11. Then, 5 minutes before the cooking time ends, crack open an egg into the centre of the pide. Depending on how you’ve arranged your toppings, you might want to carve out a little space for this so that it doesn’t spill.
12. That goes back into the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until the egg is cooked to your liking. Then when it’s ready, take it out and enjoy hot!