Last Updated on February 13, 2024 by Carne Diem
Protein: 
, 
Origin: Turkish, European
Method: Grill or Oven
Jump to RecipeThis homemade Turkish pide recipe is loaded with seasoned ground beef and lamb, bell peppers, feta, spinach, and pine nuts. This Turkish flatbread cooks up perfectly in a pizza oven or home oven.
Table of contents
Traditional Turkish Pide has been around a long time. It is believed to have been popular in Istanbul and the surrounding areas since at least the 15th or 16th century. Similar to Italy's pizza, Turkish Pide is a bread-based dish topped with a variety of toppings. Ground meats and diced veggies along with cheese, and even egg are all popular toppings for pide. In our version we make a filling of ground beef and lamb, sautéed onions and peppers, feta cheese, spinach, and toasted pine nuts. Similar to pizza, however, the choice of toppings is endless, so use your favorite.
Making the Traditional Turkish Pide
To make our version of Turkish Flatbread Pizza you will need about a pound of ground meat. We typically use a mixture of ground lamb and ground beef, but you can go all beef or all lamb if you want.
You will also need some diced onion and diced bell pepper. We typically choose a yellow or orange bell pepper, just because we really like the color it provides to the finished Turkish pizza.
Finally, you will need feta cheese, and optionally can include toasted pine nuts, and chopped spinach.
Precook your toppings
We typically precook our toppings, just like we would do for making a pizza. Heat a skillet over medium heat then add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion and peppers until just soft. Add in the meat and garlic and cook until the ground meat is browned and cook through. Drain the grease.
If using the chopped spinach, stir in the spinach and cook until warmed through. Remove from the heat and remove to a bowl. At this point you can stir in about ¼ cup of crumbled feta and a couple tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. If desired season the mixture with a little sea salt and black pepper. We do this if we plan on cooking the Traditional Turkish Pide right away. You can also wait and just add the feta and pine nuts to the pide as you assemble them if there is anyone that does not want the nuts or feta.
Making the dough for the Traditional Turkish Pide
The dough recipe for the pide needs time to rise so it needs to be started earlier. You can also prepare the pide dough a day or two ahead of time and then let it rise the day you are going to cook.
Proof the yeast
In a small bowl, add the active dry yeast and lukewarm water and whisk for 30 seconds to proof the yeast. The mixture should foam and bubble. If the yeast floats around on the top, it is dead, and you need new yeast.
Mix the dough
In a mixer with a dough hook, add the flour and salt. We find that pizza flour or bread flour works best for the Turkish flat bread, but you may use all purpose flour if that is what you have available. Run the mixer on low and add in the 1 cup of cold water, followed by the warm water with the proofed yeast. Next, use the 2 tablespoons of cold water to wash in any yeast stuck to the bowl.
Mix the dough for about 1 minute then stop the mixer and remove any dough stuck to the hook and incorporate any loose flour into the dough ball. If the dough appears too dry and flaky add about about a teaspoon of water until the dough holds together.
Add the oil to the dough and mix for about 2 minutes until all of the oil is incorporated. The dough may not be completely smooth at this point.
Next, transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured surface and knead the pide dough for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, divide the dough. Divide into 2 balls if you desire larger pides to share, or 4 balls if you want 4 individual size pides.
Oil a sheet pan or baking sheet and place the dough balls on the pan, giving them enough room to let the dough rise without touching each other. Lightly oil the top of the dough and wrap cover in plastic wrap.
Place the pan in a warm place in your kitchen and allow the dough balls to double in size (about 1-4 hours depending on conditions in your kitchen). You can also place the dough balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if you wish to make the dough ahead of time. Coming from a cold temperature they will take longer to double in size, so plan accordingly.
Assemble the Turkish Pide
Preheat your oven or smoker to 400 degrees with indirect heat. Using a pizza stone or cooking steel is desirable. Allow at least 45 minutes to preheat.
On a floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a long oblong or oval shape. Next form the dough into a boat shape by rolling up the edges of the dough and pinching the dough at the ends to hold its shape. This may be most easily done on a piece of parchment paper. The parchment paper also makes it easier to transfer the dough.
Slide the parchment paper and dough onto a pizza peel and top the dough with the meat mixture. Top with feta and toasted pine nuts, if desired, and if you didn't already mix them in with the meat mixture.
Brush the crust of the Turkish style pizza with a little olive oil. At this point we like to sprinkle the crust with a little black lava salt or sea salt, nigella seeds or sesame seeds.
Cook the Turkish Flatbread Pizza
Slide the parchment paper, with the pide, onto the preheated pizza stone. Cook for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through. The dough should be a little crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.
If desired, many versions of Turkish Pide include an egg on top. To do this, crack an egg on top of the pide as soon as you place the pide on the grill. This will typically result in an egg where the yolk is still creamy. If you want your egg more done, consider frying it first and adding it half way through the cooking.
Slice the pide into slices and enjoy warm.
Looking for more lamb recipes? Check out our South African Sosaties: Lamb and Apricot Kebabs, Smoked Moussaka, and Lebanese Baked Kibbeh: Kibbeh Bil Sanieh.
If ground beef is more your speed, we have you covered there as well. Give our Grilled Jamaican Beef Patties, Kiwi Mince and Cheese Pies: Beef and Cheddar Hand-Pies, and Navajo Frybread Tacos with Seasoned Bison a try.
If you are looking for more pizza inspired meals be sure to check out some of our other great pizza recipes:
- Chicago Tavern Style Pizza
- Detroit Style Pizza on Your BBQ Grill
- Pequod’s Inspired Cast Iron Pizza
- Best Sicilian Style Pizza
- Pizza Oven Sausage and Pepperoni Stromboli
- Ooni Apple Crisp Dessert Pizza
- Pizza Oven Sausage and Pepperoni Stromboli
Frequently Asked Questions
The flatbread pizzas in Turkey are known as pide.
Piza flour or bread flour works best for making pide style pizza dough.
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📖 Recipe
Turkish Pide: Flatbread style Pizza
Equipment
- Mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
- ½ Pound Ground Beef
- ½ Pound Ground Lamb
- ½ Onion diced
- ½ Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Garlic Clove minced
- ¼ Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese or more to taste
- ½ Package Chopped Frozen Spinach optional
- 2 Tablespoons Toasted Pine Nuts optional
- Olive Oil for brushing the crust
Dough
- 1.5 teapoons Active Dry Yeast
- ¼ Cup Warm (80-85 degrees) Water
- 3.25 Cups Flour Preferably pizza flour
- 1 Cup Cold Water
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion and peppers until just soft.
- Add in the meat and garlic and cook until the ground meat is browned and cook through. Drain the grease.
- If using the chopped spinach, stir in the spinach and cook until warmed through. Remove from the heat and set aside. Stir in the feta and pine nuts if using immediately, otherwise cover and refrigerate.
Making the dough
- In a small bowl, add the yeast and warm water and whisk for 30 seconds to proof the yeast. The mixture should foam. If the yeast floats around on the top, it is dead and you need new yeast.
- In a mixer with a dough hook, add the flour and salt. Run the mixer on low and add in the 1 cup of cold water, followed by the warm water with the proofed yeast. Use the 2 tablespoons of cold water to wash in any yeast stuck to the bowl.
- Mix for about 1 minute then stop the mixer and remove any dough stuck to the hook and incorporate any loose flour into the dough ball. If the dough appears too dry and flaky add about about a teaspoon of water until the dough holds together.
- Add the oil to the dough and mix for about 2 minutes until all of the oil is incorporated.
- Transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured surface and kneed the dough for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes divide the dough. Divide into 2 balls if you desire larger pides to share, or 4 balls if you want 4 individual size pides.
- Oil a sheet pan and place the dough balls on the pan, giving them enough room to proof without touching each other. Lightly oil the top of the dough and wrap the dough and pan in plastic wrap.
- Place the pan in a warm place in your kitchen and allow the dough balls to double in size (about 1-4 hours depending on conditions in your kitchen). You can also place the dough balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if you wish to make the dough ahead of time. Coming from a cold temperature they will take longer to double in size, so plan accordingly.
Making the Turkish Pide
- Preheat your oven or smoker to 400 degrees and indirect heat. Using a pizza stone or cooking steel is desirable. Allow at least 45 minutes to preheat.
- Roll out the dough into a long oblong shape. Form into a boat shape by rolling up the edges of the dough and pinching the dough at the ends to hold its shape. This may be most easily done on a piece of parchment paper.
- Slide the parchment paper and dough onto a pizza peel and top the dough with the meat mixture. Top with feta and toasted pine nuts if desired.
- Brush the crust of the Turkish Pide with a little olive oil.
- Slide the parchment paper, with the pide, onto the preheated pizza stone. Cook for 12-15 minutes, rotating half way through. The dough should be a little crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.
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