Lahmacun Turkish Flatbread Recipes

LAHMACUN TURKISH FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Combine yeast, sugar and 3/4 cup boiled water in a bowl, let sit until foamy, about 5-7 minutes.
• Combine flour and salt separately, fold in the yeast mixture, and knead until soft, smooth dough ball forms. Cover the dough in a bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour.
• Punch down dough, divide into 4 portions, and form them into a ball. Transfer dough balls to a floured baking sheet. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for another 45 minutes, or refrigerate until needed.
• In a large bowl, combine oil and tomato paste with the Baharat blend packet. Add in lamb, garlic, tomato, onion, and season with salt (optional).
• Preheat oven to 475°, use a pizza stone in bottom third of oven.
• Roll out each dough ball fairly thin, into a 10" disk. Transfer dough to a parchment paper, spoon about 4 tablespoons of topping onto dough, spread evenly with your fingers.
• Bake until the crust is golden brown and topping is cooked, between 6-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your crust and topping layer. Repeat with remaining dough and toppings.

TURKISH LAMB FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Mix the yeast and 250ml warm water in a small bowl, and leave to stand for 5-10 mins until foamy - this means the yeast is working. Put the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl (or use a tabletop mixer fitted with a dough hook and set at a low speed). Add the yeast mixture and mix by hand or machine until the dough comes together into a ball. If the mixture is too sticky to form a ball, add 2 tbsp flour and mix again. Knead for 12 mins by hand, or 8-10 mins on a high speed in the mixer, until smooth, then put in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat the dough in the oil, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 2-4 hrs until doubled in size. (You can also put it in the fridge overnight, punch down and let it rise again at room temperature.)
• Heat the oven to 240C/220C/gas 9. Put a baking sheet or pizza stone on the middle shelf. If you're using lamb leg meat, blitz it in a food processor until it's finely minced. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for 10 mins until golden. Add the lamb and cook for 5 mins or until brown, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, then pour off any excess oil. Add the spices, some seasoning, tomato purée, tomatoes and the pomegranate molasses, and cook for 5 mins more, mixing everything together well and breaking down the tomatoes with a spoon. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely. Can be done one or two days ahead.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle about 30 x 40cm. Sprinkle 1 tsp or so of the semolina on a baking sheet. Put the dough on top and make sure it can move around. Add the spicy lamb first, then top with the red onions, pine nuts and feta. Slide onto the heated baking sheet or pizza stone and cook for 10-15 mins until crisp on the bottom.
• Remove and drizzle with a little extra pomegranate molasses, then scatter over the parsley and pomegranate seeds. Transfer to a large board and cut into diamonds to serve.

LAHMACUN

Steps:

• For tomato sauce:
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and serrano chile and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with your hands, piquillo peppers, brown sugar, vinegar, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often and mashing with a potato masher (or a spoon), until thickened, 15-20 minutes. Let cool slightly, then purée in a blender until smooth; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• For meat:
• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5-8 minutes. Add lamb, beef, Aleppo pepper, ras-el-hanout, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
• For assembly:
• Place a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 500°F. Cut dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping remaining pieces covered, gently stretch dough into 12" rounds and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. (If dough springs back, let rest 10 minutes, then stretch again, resting as needed, until dough is thin).
• Spread each round of dough with a layer of tomato sauce; season with salt and pepper and top with a thin layer of meat mixture. Working in batches, cook lahmacun until crusts are browned and crisp, 10-12 minutes.
• Toss parsley and lemon juice in a small bowl. Top each lahmacun with parsley mixture and drizzle with oil.
• DO AHEAD: Sauce and meat mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and keep chilled.

LAHMACUN TURKISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the garlic, onion, basil, parsley, mint, paprika, cumin, coriander, diced bell peppers, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped. Add the halved tomatoes and process until the mixture is a thick puree.
• Place the lamb in the preheated skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Add the puree and the tomato paste and mix well. Cook and stir until the lamb is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1 cup warm water. Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and stir well. Add the vegetable oil and 1/2 cup water to the yeast mixture and pour it over the flour. Use your hands to mix the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover with a wet towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Remove the lamb sauce from the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature. Prepare the garlic sauce: combine the yogurt, parsley, crushed garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and set aside.
• Punch the dough down, transfer it to a floured work surface, and cut the dough into 10 portions. Shape each portion into a round. Flatten each round with your hand; use a rolling pin to roll each piece into a 10-inch circle. The dough should be thin, like a crepe. Place the rounds on parchment paper.
• Preheat an oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Stir the lamb sauce and then spoon it onto a dough round. Spread it thinly to the edges and press down lightly so it sticks to the dough. Bake pizzas on parchment paper-lined baking sheets on the lowest oven rack until the edges are a light tan color, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Place on a wire rack to cool. The pizzas can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three days or in the freezer for three months. To reheat, place the pizzas in a 350 degree F oven (175 degrees C) for 8 minutes.
• To assemble the lahmacun, drizzle with garlic sauce, top with shredded cabbage, and roll up to eat. See the Cook's Notes for other garnish ideas.