Ramazan Pidesi Recipes

SOURDOUGH TURKISH PIDE (RAMAZAN PIDESI)

Steps:

• Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
• Mix the dough ingredients together in a bowl with space for about 75% growth.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.
• Develop gluten strength in the dough with several rounds of stretching and folding. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes between each round.
• After 4-6 hours of bulk fermentation (since the initial mixing), the dough will have expanded in size by 50-75%.
• Refrigerate the covered bowl for 6-12 hours to enhance the flavor; or you can finish the first rise at room temperature, moving onto the next step when the dough has almost doubled in size.
• Dividing, Pre-Shaping, and Final Proof
• If you refrigerated the dough, let it warm up for about an hour before proceeding to the next step.
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a clean, well-floured countertop. Divide it in two and shape the pieces into tight balls.
• Leaving a few inches between the balls for expansion, cover the dough with a damp cloth or large inverted baking pan for 1-2 hours for the final proof.
• Preheating, Shaping, and Dough Topping
• Thirty minutes before the end of the final proof, begin preheating your oven to 450F with a pizza stone or upside down baking sheet on the middle shelf.
• Prepare a large sheet of parchment paper (approx 15"x20") by sprinkling flour on it.
• Using your bench knife and a lightly floured hand, gently scoop up each dough. Stretching it out a bit as you lay it onto the parchment paper.
• Generously brush the tops of the doughs with the molasses-water or the egg-yogurt mixtures.
• Using fingertips that are wet from the mixtures, dimple a perimeter around the dough, pushing outward a bit as you go. Then dimple diagonal lines to make a diamond pattern and sprinkle generously with the seeds.
• Baking and Storage
• Load the dough into the oven with a pizza peel or large cutting board. I haven't found steam to be necessary but feel free to set up a steam system if you want.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top has golden brown spots. (Rotate the pide about 8 minutes in if they seem to be browning unevenly.
• Let the pide cool on a rack and cover or wrap if they're not eaten in one day.