Lahmacun (Turkish) or Lahmajun (Armenian) means “meat with dough’’, derived from the Arabian language. This Middle-Eastern traditional delicacy is also popular in Libanon, Syria and Israel, and shared by many Arab communities around the world. A very thin pide dough topped with beef or lamb mince, ground vegetables and spices. Often served rolled up, filled with vegetables.
Ingredients for 10 Lahmacun – Turkish Pizza
For the dough
- For the dough
- 500g flour
- 150 ml milk
- 150 ml warm water
- 7g active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the topping
- 250g lamb mince
- 1 red paprika
- 1 tomato
- 1 red onion (160g approx.)
- 30g tomato paste (2 tbsp)
- 10g fresh parsley*
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 1/2 smoked paprika powder
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp sumac powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
Optional extra toppings
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Red onion
- Ice berg lettuce
- Garlic sauce
Materials
- 2 mixing bowls
- Mixer with dough hook
- Kitchen tongs
- Kitchen knife
- Frying pan with lid
- Food processor
- Tea towel & plate
- Spatula
- Beeswax cloth/towel
* Coriander or mint are a great substitute or combo too!
How it’s done!
1. Add the warm water, milk, sugar and active dry yeast in a mixing bowl and stir it with a spatula.
2. Add olive oil, flour and salt and stir until a dough comes together.
3. Knead the dough approximately 5 minutes with your hands or 2 minutes with a mixer with dough hook.
4. Cover the bowl with bees wax cloth, a damp tea towel or a bath cap and let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes or until more or else doubled in size. Depending on the temperature in your environment. If it is cold, it takes longer to rise. If it is warm, it takes less time to rise.
5. In the meantime place the paprika on the stove and blister and blacken it on all sides while turning it with kitchen tongs. * If you don’t have a stove you could skip this step or use a culinary blow torch.
6. Peel the skin off the paprika with a knife and remove the stem and seeds. Put all the ingredients, except for the lamb mince in the food processor and pulsate until everything is chopped up and mixed into a paste.
7. Put the lamb mince in a bowl, add the spiced veggie paste and mix it all together until well combined.
8. Divide the dough into 10 equal balls of dough. (I always weigh the dough and divide the weight by 10 to weigh down 10 even portions of dough.)
9. Take a ball of dough, dust your working spot with some flour and press the dough out with your fingers into a thin circle of oval (or whatever shape, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just as flat as you can make it). It helps to pick up the dough and stretch it at the places where it still needs to be a little thinner.
10. Warm a dry frying pan on high heat. Place your stretched dough into the pan and turn down the heat to medium. Spread a couple of tablespoons of the topping evenly on the dough, put the lid on top of the pan (so the top of the dough will also cook evenly) and let it bake for 2-4 minutes. (Just keep an eye on the bottom of the Lahmacun and adjust the heath if necessary, to make sure the Turkish pizza will not burn.)
11. Cover a plate with a tea towel, place the fresh Lahmacun on top of the tea towel and fold it close (this way the dough stays soft and warm). Repeat step 9 til 11 until all your Turkish pizzas are ready.
Serving tip: You can add sliced ice berg lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and garlic sauce on top of the Lahmacun and serve it wrapped up. But I personally like it plain. A sauce can easily overpower the flavor of the Turkish pizza.
If you enjoyed this Lahmacun – Turkish pizza recipe, you might also like the recipe for these Worstenbroodjes – Dutch sausage rolls or this Camembert frit – Fried Camembert recipe.
Tried these Lahmacun – Turkish pizzas? Let me know in the comments down below if you liked it and feel free to drop any questions or suggestions. It always makes me happy to see photos of your creations. So share them with me @Talesofpastry (Insta + FB) or Tales-Of-Pastry (Reddit).
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