Recipe by Sarah Phillips; Food styling and photos by Kelly Hong © 8-26-2015 Sarah Phillips CraftyBaking.com
Turkish stuffed pide are a delicious alternative to traditional pizza. The texture of the baked dough is softer and more tender than pizza dough, which is chewier.
We developed recipes for the dough and a vegetarian cheese option, as well as a meat filling, but you can really stuff them with anything you like.
Before baking, optionally add bell pepper strips. After baking, garnish them with one of the traditional toppings which is a softly cooked egg or chopped tomatoes, herbs and olives.
Great for a grab and go lunch and pide make a fresh and satisfying dinner when paired with a salad, and a glass of good red wine.
BREAD RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
For the dough: Makes 4 pide
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water, divided; 100 to 110 degrees F measured with an Instant Read Thermometer
1/2 cup warm milk; 100 to 110 degrees F measured with an Instant Read Thermometer
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
For the yogurt dough glaze:
1 tablespoon yogurt*
2 tablespoons water*
* or use 3 tablespoons whole or 2 % milk
FILLINGS:
For the Cheese Filling: will fill 4 pide
1 pound spinach
2 cloves garlic
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
pinch of salt, more if needed
pinch of freshly ground pepper, more if needed
8 ounces of mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
4 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup blue cheese or gorgonzola, crumbled (about 1 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
For the Meat Filling: will fill 4 pide
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
16 ounces ground beef or lamb
3/4 teaspoon salt, or more if needed
A few grinds of freshly ground pepper, or more if needed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 large tomato
Bell Pepper Garnish before baking, optional:
1 or 2 red or yellow bell peppers
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch of salt
A few grinds of freshly ground pepper
Additional toppings after baking, optional:
Seeded and diced tomatoes
Kalamata or green pitted olives
chopped parsley or mint
1 large egg
nonstick spray
3 tablespoons water
EQUIPMENT, ETC:
Pizza Stone
Pizza Peel or unrimmed baking sheet
Cornmeal
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP I: MAKE THE PIDE (PIZZA) DOUGH
Mix the dough, and let it rise:
1. Rinse out the bowl of a stand mixer with warm water to warm it.
Then add in the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water.
Stir to dissolve the yeast, then set aside for 15 minutes to proof.
2. Sift together the flour and the salt.
3. Add the remaining 1/4 cup warm water to the warm milk, then add the olive oil.
Add this mixture to the proofed yeast mixture, and stir to combine.
4. Add the sifted flour/salt to the liquid and yeast ingredients and stir to combine.
5. Fit the mixing bowl to the stand mixer, and attach a dough hook.
Knead the ingredients about 8 minutes on medium, or until the dough is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
6. Transfer the dough to a clean oiled bowl, turning once to cover the dough with the oil.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside for one hour to rise.
STEP II: MAKE THE PIDE FILLING. LET THE FILLING COOL. CAN BE MADE AHEAD.
While the dough is rising, make the filling of your choice. The filling can be made a day or two ahead of time and refrigerated.
NOTE: Each filling recipe will fill 4 pide.
For the cheese filling:
1. Put two teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat, and add the 2 cloves of garlic processed through a garlic press.
2. Sauté until the garlic softens, then add the spinach, a bit at a time, stirring until it is all wilted.
3. Add the salt and a few grinds of pepper, and stir to combine.
4. Strain the excess liquid out of the spinach mixture, then spread it out on a large plate to cool.
5. Place one teaspoon of olive oil in the same skillet, and add the chopped onion, salt and pepper.
Cook over medium low heat, stirring often, until the onions are nicely caramelized.
Remove onion from the pan and set them aside to cool.
NOTE: the spinach and onion must be fully cooled to room temperature before you add them to the cheese mixture.
6. When the spinach and onions have cooled, add the mozzarella, feta and blue cheeses to a large bowl.
7. Squeeze any remaining water out of the cooked spinach, then measure out 1/2 cup.
Rough chop the spinach.
8. Measure out 1/2 cup of the caramelized onions.
Then add the chopped spinach and the 1/2 cup caramelized onions to the cheeses.
9. Add the oregano, and the salt and pepper and toss the mixture with your hands until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Taste the mixture, to see if it needs more salt. The amount needed can vary, because some brands of feta are saltier than others.
Cover and set aside while you prepare the pide dough for filling.
STORAGE
Cover and refrigerate for a day or two until needed in the recipe.
For the meat filling:
1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet, then add the onions and sauté over medium high heat until they start to soften and take on some color.
Add the garlic through a garlic press, and sauté for about 1 minute.
Remove the onion mixture from the pan, then add the ground meat.
2. Sauté the ground meat until it is nicely browned then add the onion/garlic mixture back to the pan, and stir to combine.
Add the cumin, oregano and salt and pepper, and cook for an additional minute.
Taste the mixture, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
3. Cut a large tomato in half horizontally.
Push the juice and seeds out with your fingers, then chop the tomato and add it to the meat mixture.
Cook for an additional minute, then set aside the meat filling to cool, while you prepare the pide dough for filling.
STORAGE
Drain and place in a bowl. Store, well covered, in the refrigerator for a few days.
For the bell pepper garnish, optional:
1. Just lightly sauté the bell pepper strips in a little olive oil until they are crisp-tender.
2. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Place on a plate to cool.
STORAGE
Cover and refrigerate for a day or two.
STEP III: HEAT THE OVEN. ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE PIDE. SERVE.
Heat the oven. Degass the pide dough and divide, round, and bench it:
1. Position a shelf in the lower third of the oven and place a pizza stone on it.
Heat the oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Gently but fully degas the risen dough, and put it on a lightly floured work surface.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, then roll the dough into a cylinder and cut it into 4 equal parts.
If necessary, use a scale to help you divide the dough into equal weights.
4. Roll each portion of dough into a ball, and cover the 4 balls of dough with a cloth or a greased side down piece of plastic wrap, and let them rest for ten minutes.
NOTE: Rounding and resting the dough will make it easier to shape or roll out thinly.
STORAGE
The dough can be refrigerated for a day or two, or frozen for a month or more. Thaw in the refrigerator. Let it warm at room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
Shape and fill the pide dough:
1. Working with one ball of dough at a time, gently flatten the dough with your hands, then roll it out to and 12- x 7-inch oval. Dough should be thin.
Keep the other dough balls covered while not in use.
NOTE: If the room is hot, place the dough balls on a baking sheet, cover with a greased side-down piece of plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed.
SARAH SAYS: If the dough snaps back and is hard to roll, cover it as is on the countertop. Let it rest for a few minutes before trying again.
2. Transfer the oval to a cornmeal dusted pizza peel.
Give the peel a little shake, to make sure the dough is not stuck to the peel.
If it is, add a little more cornmeal to the areas where it is sticking.
NOTE: If you do not have a pizza peel, dust the back of a unrimmed baking sheet with cornmeal and use that instead.
3. Drizzle a little olive oil on the center of the dough and spread it with your hand.
4. Add 3/4 cup of cheese or meat filling to the center of the dough, and spread it out, leaving a border all the way around the edge.
5. Optionally decorate with sautéed and cooled bell pepper strips, over the filling.
6. Fold the two sides of the pide dough toward the center.
Then pinch the ends and twist them a little to form a boat shape.
7. Mix the yogurt and water dough glaze together in a small bowl.
SARAH SAYS: Skip this step if just using a milk glaze.
8. Lightly brush the edges of the dough with the yogurt dough glaze or the milk.
9. Transfer the pide to the baking stone, giving the pizza peel a quick forward jerk, then pull away the peel.
Bake the pide:
1. Bake the pide for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown.
2. Remove the pide from the oven with the pizza peel, or a large spatula, then repeat the above steps with the rest of the dough balls.
SERVE
Serve warm or cool.
STORAGE
Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days and warm in the oven before serving.
ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS AFTER BAKING, OPTIONAL
After the pide are removed from the oven, you may add any additional fresh toppings that you like, right before serving:
Fresh chopped tomatoes, olives and/or herbs:
One of the traditional toppings for pide is a softly cooked egg:
Ideally, the yolk of the egg should still be runny.
Some recipes will direct you to cook the egg in the oven, for the last few minutes of baking, but we have found that this often leads to an unevenly cooked egg white, and a hardened yolk.
We have determined that it is far better to cook the egg in a pan, then add the perfectly cooked egg to the pide, right before it is served.
1. Spray a skillet with nonstick spray, then add the egg.
2. Cook the egg until the white is about half way cooked then add water to the pan.
3. Cover the pan immediately, then cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the white are fully cooked and the yolk is still soft.
4. Cut off the excess white with the spatula, the add the egg to the top of the pide.
