Turkish Cheese Pide

Pide which is pronounced ‘pee-dae’ is a traditional oval shaped Turkish flatbread that is served with a variety of toppings or fillings. In Turkey, Pide can be found in different shapes, although is traditionally oval-shaped and open-faced, there are places that make it in a round shape or as a closed version called kapali pide. Also known as Turkish pizza, Turkish pide is a very versatile flat bread that works well when baking in a wood-fired oven with both savoury and sweet fillings.

Preparation time

1hr 45 mins

Cooking time

15 mins

Serves

6 people

Ingredients

550g strong bread flour
1 tsp caster sugar
6g dried active yeast
350g water
10g salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the topping:
100g grated feta cheese
100g grated Turkish kasar cheese or mozzarella cheese
3 egg yolks (optional)
Dried chilli flakes to sprinkle
Dried oregano to sprinkle
2 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly cracked black pepper

Method

Pre-heat your Fuego Wood-Fired Oven to 180°C.
In a large bowl, mix the yeast into the flour using your fingertips. Add the salt, sugar, olive oil and water. Work the dough with one hand for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough starts to form. Lightly flour the work surface, place the dough on the flour and form a ball by folding each edge in turn into the centre. Place the dough in a mixer with a dough hook and mix for 7 minutes on a low speed. Cover the dough with a tea towel and rest for at least 1 hour in a warm, draught-free place.
Turn the dough out gently onto a well-floured work surface. Be careful not to deflate it but expect it to spread out to cover a square of your surface. Generously flour the top of the dough and cover with a clean tea towel to rest for 5 minutes.
Using a dough scraper, cut the dough into 2 rectangles, and then cut each piece again into three roughly rectangular pieces. Take each rectangle and roll it out giving an oval shape.
Combine the grated feta and kasar cheese in a bowl. Place some grated cheese filling leaving some space around the edges. Stick the edges of a pide - it will have a boat shape. Sprinkle some dried oreganos and chilli flakes. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Place the pides on a baking sheet covered with parchment and lightly dusted with flour.
To bake, transfer each pide onto a pizza peel which is also lightly dusted with flour and stretch the edges of the pide base, so it’s fully laid out. Using your pizza peel, slide your pide into your oven. Using a turning pizza peel pick the pide from the side, bring to the front of the oven and turn it round. Do not turn your pide inside the oven, as it will pick too much ash. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. If you are garnishing with an egg yolk, add this on the last 5 minutes of cooking. To serve, sprinkle some chopped parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.

Turkish Cheese Pide

Perfectionists in the Art of Wood-Fired Cooking.