Turkish Lahmacun

Ingredients

• bread flour350 g
• instant yeast1 tsp
• warm water220 ml
• olive oil2 tbsp
• fine salt1 tsp
• ground lamb300 g
• ripe tomato1 large, grated
• red bell pepper1, finely chopped
• yellow onion1, finely chopped
• garlic3 cloves, minced
• flat-leaf parsleya large handful, finely chopped
• tomato paste2 tbsp
• Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası)1 tbsp
• Aleppo pepper or pul biber1 tsp
• ground cumin1 tsp
• sumac1 tsp, plus more for serving
• lemon1, cut into wedges
• saltto taste
• black pepperto taste

Steps

1. 1

   Make and knead the dough.

   Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt, then add the warm water and olive oil. Knead until smooth and elastic, about eight minutes.

2. 2

   Cover and let rise until nearly doubled.

3. 3

   Pulse and strain the paste.

   Pulse the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomato in a food processor to a wet paste, then squeeze out the excess liquid through a sieve.

4. 4

   Mix the meat and vegetable paste.

   Mix the drained vegetable paste with the lamb, tomato paste, biber salçası, cumin, sumac, Aleppo pepper, parsley, salt, and black pepper until uniform.

5. 5

   Preheat the oven and baking surface.

   Place a baking steel or heavy tray in the oven and preheat to its hottest setting, at least 260°C.

6. 6

   Divide and roll out the dough.

   Divide the dough into eight balls and roll each one out as thin as you can on a lightly floured surface — almost translucent.

7. 7

   Spread the meat mixture thinly.

   Spread a thin, even layer of the meat mixture all the way to the edges of each round.

8. 8

   Bake the lahmacun on hot steel.

   Slide onto the hot steel and bake until the meat is cooked and the edges blister.

9. 9

   Pile with parsley and roll to eat.

   Pile with parsley, dust with sumac, squeeze with lemon, and roll up to eat.