Lahmacun-style Turkish flatbread

Ingredients

Dough

• 300 g strong bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 180 ml warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Topping

• 300 g minced lamb (or 200 g lamb + 100 g beef)
• 1 small onion, very finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, very finely diced (drained of excess juice)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp red pepper paste (optional, Turkish shops)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp sumac
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

To serve

• Lemon wedges
• Fresh parsley
• Pickled chillies
• Sumac and sumac onions (optional)

Method

1. Make the dough. Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add warm water and olive oil. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and prove for 1 hour or until doubled.
2. Make the topping. Combine all topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix vigorously with your hands for 2–3 minutes until the mixture gets tacky and holds together.
3. Preheat. Put a heavy baking tray or pizza stone in the oven at 250°C fan (or as hot as it goes) for 30 minutes.
4. Shape. Divide dough into 4 pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece into a thin oval or round (around 25cm). The thinner, the better — paper-thin is the goal.
5. Top. Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture over each flatbread, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Press down so the topping sticks.
6. Bake. Slide the topped flatbread onto the hot tray. Bake 8–10 minutes until the edges are browned and the meat is cooked through.
7. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, parsley, pickled chillies and a sprinkle of sumac.

Tips

• Hotter oven = better lahmacun. If your oven only goes to 240°C, that’s still fine — just give it 10 minutes.
• The dough must be rolled thin. If it’s too thick, it’ll be bready rather than cracker-crisp.
• Roll each flatbread JUST before topping — if they sit too long they dry out and crack.
• Eat immediately. Lahmacun goes chewy within 5 minutes of baking.