Turkish pide is a boat-shaped flatbread, often called Turkish pizza. It is an oven-baked bread with a soft, chewy yeast dough and can be made with a variety of vegetarian or meat-based fillings like cheese, ground beef or sucuk. This homemade version made using my foolproof dough is both easy and versatile—perfect for breakfast or as part of a sharing platter.
Turkish food is one of my favourites, and I’m lucky enough to live in the Greater Toronto Area which means we have so many authentic Turkish restaurants to choose from. What do I order every single time I go? Always pide and lahmacun! And yes, while I do love meat-based dishes like doner kebab and iskender kebab, there’s something about authentic stone-oven savoury pastries that I can never resist!
My family and I love to have a large breakfast spread on the weekends, and as a change from the regular manakish (which are a Lebanese style flatbread), I wanted to make pide. The fun part is letting everyone choose what toppings they want.
Ingredients You Will Need
You’ll need the regular ingredients for a yeast based dough. I’ve tested this dough recipe using a stand mixer (which is my preference) as well as hand-kneading and it comes out perfect both times with a soft texture yet with a slight chew.
You can also prepare whatever toppings you like; I mention all of my favourites below.
Step by Step Process
The first step is to prepare the dough and allow at least 1 hour for it to rise. I prefer using my stand mixer. Make sure you allow the stand mixer to knead the dough for at least 3 minutes or so, and that you test your instant yeast to ensure it is active.
TIP: To test your yeast, mix the yeast with the warm water. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and ensure you can see some foam forming (it doesn’t have to bubble a lot, as long as you see a bit of foam). If you don’t observe any foam, you need new yeast!
How do you know if you’ve kneaded the dough long enough? You should be able to touch it and ensure it is not sticky, soft, with a smooth surface and stretches well when you pull on it without instantly breaking.
Once the dough doubles in size, you’re ready to split it into 3 pieces and start shaping it; follow the photos below for guidance.
Baking Tip: I love using a pizza stone to bake the pide which results in a crispy crust. If you don’t have one, you can use a large sheet pan, flipped over and pre-heated. Follow the directions in the recipe card for the optimal baking directions.
How To Best Serve Pide
I serve them immediately after baking because they’re amazing fresh from the oven. I use a pizza cutter to cut across the boat shaped pide and form small individual pieces – just like they do at Turkish restaurants.
You can also crack an egg on top once the pide is almost finished baking, in the last 1-2 minutes. This is prefect if you’re serving it for breakfast.
Store them in an airtight container, or better yet, freeze any leftovers in an airtight freezer bag. Heat them in the oven from frozen and they’ll be good as new!
Other Turkish Recipes You Will Love
If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!
Turkish Pide
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 250 millileters warm water
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 400 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Cheese Stuffing
- 6 tablespoons pepper paste
- 4½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese 400g, divided
- 1 cup chopped spinach optional
- 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced, optional
For the Lamb Stuffing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 600 grams minced lamb meat
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
For Garnish
- 1 egg whisked, for egg wash
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon nigella seeds
Instructions
- Place a pizza stone or a baking tray flipped upside down in the oven and preheat the oven to 450℉
For the Dough
- Mix together the yeast, sugar and warm water in a measuring cup. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. Add the flour and salt. Mix well and knead the dough by hand or with a stand mixer. If using a stand mixer, knead for 3-5 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for at least 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth, not sticky, and stretches well when you hold a piece and stretch it out. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour.
For the Lamb Stuffing
- If preparing the lamb filling, heat up a large pan over medium heat. Add in the olive oil and once heated, sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add the minced lamb, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, paprika, and cumin. Raise the heat to medium high and cook until the lamb is fully cooked and there is no water left in the pan, 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
To Make the Pides (Cheese or Lamb)
- Once the dough has risen, punch down the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces. Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface that is at least 40×20 cm big. Roll each dough into a long 40×15 cm oval shape right onto the parchment paper for easier transfer. If the dough is too sticky, lightly dust the surface with flour.
- Spread each oval with 2 tablespoons of pepper paste and 1 ½ cups of cheese, leaving 2.5 cm offset from the sides. Top with your chosen vegetables. Or stuff with 1/3 cup of the lamb mixture topped with cheese. Fold the edges over the filling and pinch the ends together forming a boat-like shape. Brush the folded edges with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or nigella seeds. Repeat with the remaining 2 ovals.
- Carefully transfer the pide to the oven by sliding it onto the back side of a flat baking sheet or pizza peel, and then sliding it onto the pre heated baking sheet or pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden along the sides, then broil for 2 to 3 minutes until the stuffing is sizzling and golden. If adding an egg, bake for 10 minutes, then crack the egg in the center of the pide and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Once the pide is cooked, allow it to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, slice into pieces and enjoy.
Notes
- If you notice that the dough is not stretching well, cover with a tea towel and allow it to rest for a couple of minutes
- Other fillings are optional like sujuk and vegetables, spinach and feta or whatever you may prefer. Just keep in mind not to add a lot of liquid based filling, the pide will end up soggy and undercooked.
- You might need to broil the top of the pide last minute to get an even colour.
- Each stuffing recipe is enough for 3 pide. In case you want to try more than one, you can cut the filling recipes in half.
Nutrition
The post Homemade Turkish Pide (Various Toppings!) appeared first on Hungry Paprikas.