Name: Pide - Turkish Pizza
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 4 x 125g shop bought pizza dough balls (approx. 125g/4.5oz) each; 800g minced (ground) beef; 300g chopped tinned (canned) tomatoes; 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small dice; 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into small dice; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1 tsp sumac; 1 - 2 tsp Aleppo chilli powder (pul biber); 1 tbsp red pepper paste; 1 tbsp tomato paste or more red pepper paste; Salt and pepper to taste; 1 egg, whisked; 3 tbsp sesame seeds (optional); 500g Mozzarella cheese or another cheese of choice

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Bite into a pide and you’ll be hooked!

Turkish pide is a traditional Turkish flatbread or boat-shaped bread that is often topped with a variety of ingredients, making it somewhat similar to pizza. It’s a popular dish in Turkey and can be found in restaurants, bakeries, and street food stalls. The dough is typically soft on the inside with a crisp, golden crust on the outside.

If you are familiar with Turkish pide, you will love the results you get from this pide recipe!

About this recipe.

Pide is uniquely shaped like a boat, with the edges folded over slightly to create a rim, which helps hold in the toppings. It is similar to lahmacun which is flat and round and also resembles a pizza.

The difference is not only in the shape of pide but also you can add the ingredients of your choice whereas lahmacun are kept simple and topped only with a special meaty sauce.

What is in the dough for pide bread?

You prepare the dough for pide in a similar way to how you prepare pizza dough. For this reason, I have kept this recipe simple, using shop bought pizza dough. You might, however want to try my pide and lahmacun dough recipe if you love the whole preparation and cooking process.

Pide dough is usually made from flour, yeast, water, salt, and sometimes yogurt, mild or olive oil for added softness. It is kneaded until smooth, allowed to rise, and then shaped. Another dough recipe you might like to try is my lavash dough which works well for pide. You just form it differently for pide instead of rolling it thin.

What topping typically go on pide?

Turkish pide comes with a variety of toppings, which can vary by region or personal taste. Common toppings include:

Ground meat (Kıymalı Pide): Often lamb or beef, mixed with onions, tomatoes, peppers, and spices. This is one of the versions I have for you here.
Cheese (Peynirli Pide): Usually made with Turkish white cheese, mozzarella, or a local cheese like kaşar. Mozzarella of course works really well.
Sucuklu Pide: Topped with sucuk, a type of Turkish spicy sausage similar to pepperoni. You can find this at specialty grocers.
Vegetarian options: Sometimes pide is topped with spinach, eggplant, mushrooms, or mixed vegetables.
Egg: In some versions, a raw egg is cracked over the pide just before it finishes baking, cooking to a soft or medium consistency.

How do you cook Turkish pide?

If you have one, bake your pides in a wood-fired oven, which gives it a nice smoky flavour and crispness. However, it can also cook pide in a home oven.

If you choose to cook your pide in the oven, heat a pizza stone at the highest temperature for about 30 minutes which will help achieve a crispy crust.

How do you serve pide?

Slice your pide into slices across the boat shape so that you can easily pick up the pieces and enjoy. You can serve your pide with a Turkish salad. That’s all you need.

What is the difference between pide and pizza?

While similar to pizza in its concept, pide differs in its dough texture, shape, and the types of toppings used. The boat shape and slightly thicker dough give it a distinctive character. Pide also tends to use more traditional Turkish ingredients, especially spiced meats and local cheeses.

Turkish pide is a versatile, delicious bread that can be topped with a wide array of ingredients, offering a taste of Turkey’s rich culinary traditions. If you don’t have the Turkish ingredients in, just use what you like on your pizzas.

Step by step photographs.

The ingredients for the recipe laid out on a kitchen counter.

get all your ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking.

Frying the beef in a pan until cooked through.

Heat the minced beef in a pan and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring regularly until cooked through.

Stirring in the fresh chopped onion, bell peppers and garlic.

Stir in the chopped onion, bell peppers and garlic and fry for about 3 minutes just to heat them through. Also stir in the aleppo chilli powder and sumac.

Adding the chopped tomatoes to the meat.

Pour in the chopped tomatoes and stir well to combine.

Adding the red pepper paste and the tomato paste to the meat.

Now add the red pepper paste and the tomato paste to the meat and stir it in.

The meat mixture all prepared and ready to add to the pides.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool some before building your pides.

Adding fresh flat leaf parsley to the meat mixture.

As it cools, stir in the chopped parsely.

A dough ball flattened on a floured surface.

Flatten one of your dough balls with your hands and then roll it out into a long oval shape. This base should be slightly thicker than a thin crust pizza.

Covering the top of the dough with the meat mixture and folding the dough over the meat to make a boat shape.

Cover the dough base generously with the meat mixture and the press the ends together and fold the sides over the meat to make a boat shape. Brush the sides with the egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. This is optional.

Cook the pide in your hot oven until heated through and the crust is crispy on the bottom and sides.

Two pide breads, one filled with meat and cheese and the other with cheese and tomato.

You can fill your pide breads with the meat and top with cheese or come up with your own versions. Several different cheeses and tomato make a nice veggie option.

This pide was filled with mozzarella, Cheddar and smoky Cheddar and topped with fresh tomato slices.

Slice your pide across the long boat shape and dig in. Enjoy!

If you like this Turkish pide recipe, you might like to try some of these other Turkish recipes too!

Have you tried this Turkish pide recipe?

If so, please give it a star rating in the comments below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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Yield: 4