Turkish Lahmacun

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg wheat flour type 405
• 1 cube of fresh yeast or 2 packets of dry yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 50 ml olive oil
• 600 ml water, lukewarm, maybe a little more or less
• Flour for the work surface
• 500 g minced beef
• 500 g minced lamb
• 2 red peppers, diced
• 3 bell peppers, green (Charleston), diced
• 3 onions, finely diced or grated
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 can of pizza tomatoes
• 2 tbsp paprika paste or tomato paste
• 50 ml olive oil
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• some sumac, red
• 100 ml water, cold

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 minute; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 16 minutes

Yeast dough for Turkish Lahmacun, Pide or dumplings

For the dough, mix all the dry ingredients, add the oil, and slowly mix with lukewarm water to form a smooth, elastic, and soft dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. Add the water slowly. Form the dough into a ball and press a well in the center with your index finger. If the dough springs back quickly, it’s ready and needs to rest. The dough should feel as soft as an earlobe. In the meantime, briefly preheat the oven to 30°C. The oven shouldn’t be any hotter, or the yeast culture will die and the dough won’t rise. Turn off the oven and let the dough rest in a bowl covered with a plate or lid in the oven for about 1-2 hours, until it has doubled in size. In summer, preheating the oven isn’t necessary; a dark, warm place will do just fine. Release air from the dough and knead it again. Cut 20 pieces of dough, approximately the size of an XL egg, shape them into balls, line them up, and cover with a slightly damp tea towel for further processing. While the dough is resting and rising in the oven, prepare the topping. Mix the pizza tomatoes, paprika or tomato paste, green and red peppers, onions, and parsley together. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and sumac. Mix well with the minced meat and olive oil. Finally, thin the mixture slightly with cold water until it is spreadable. Using a rolling pin and a little flour, roll out each of the dough balls into plate-sized, approximately 0.5 cm thick flatbreads and place 2-3 flatbreads each on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spread approximately 1-2 tablespoons of the topping evenly over each flatbread using the back of a spoon and your fingers, then press down. Also, press down on the edges to prevent them from becoming hard. The topping should not be thicker than the flatbread itself. Bake the flatbreads in a preheated oven at 220° – 240° C for about 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Alternate between two baking sheets. Always keep an eye on the oven, as the flatbreads cook quickly at high heat and may otherwise char or become too hard. Eat the hot flatbreads straight from the oven, or stack them all on a tray, slightly spaced apart, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. This will keep them soft, even after they have cooled. The lahmacun can be served hot and crispy, spread with a little cold butter if desired, straight from the oven, or eaten in a soft form once slightly cooled. Traditionally, green salad, fresh tomatoes, parsley, onion slices with sumac and perhaps a squeeze of lemon, as well as ayran, a Turkish yogurt drink, are served for rolling. The specified quantity yields approximately 20 lahmacun. Allow 2-4 lahmacun per person. Tips and hints: The same dough can also be used to make pizza, pide, or dumplings and baked with any topping or filling, e.g., spinach, cheese, or egg. For pide, fold the edges of the flatbreads over by about 2 cm after adding the toppings and shape them into boats. Brush the edges with egg yolk before baking. The dough and the finished flatbreads can be frozen from their packaging if there are any leftovers. The topping, if fresh minced meat was used, can also be frozen. To eat, simply bake the frozen flatbreads briefly in the oven or, once thawed, warm them individually in a toaster oven. The preparation time, including resting time, is approximately 4 hours, so if possible, prepare the lahmacun together with 1-2 other people.