Let us be clear: if you are living in Turkey, you have no need to make this bread at home. There are pide-makers who spend all day, and have done so for their entire working lives, doing nothing but forming these canoe-like breads and then slipping them into purposely-designed very hot oven for a few minutes until they reach golden perfection. Knowing that, I will first guide you to this marvelous place, and then give instructions for making pide at home when you are NOT in Turkey.

There is a small pedestrian street that emanates from the Spice Bazaar which you can find by following your nose, literally. It begins with the iconic coffee vendor, Mehmet Effendi, and when you smell the coffee, and see the winding circle that is the line, you will know you’re in the right place. This small street snakes down parallel to the busy road full of traffic and boasts the most eclectic and visually arresting kitchen supply stores and eateries. My companions and I were already hungry after spending hours wandering through the Spice Bazaar. We especially loved chatting with Bilge, the charismatic owner of Uzcuzcular Spices, who explained the history of her shop and the spices used in Turkish cuisine. In addition to the dizzying array of aromatics, they carry teas, nuts, and dried fruits. In order to have a proper tasting, a tea or coffee is brought to each customer during the process.

    

Bilge, who calls herself a “spice girl ,” offers tastings with a little card to help you remember and navigate the array.

          

When you leave Bilge’s place with your bags laden with teas, essential oils, spices, dried fruit stuffed with hazelnuts, all that shopping might have made you peckish. You wander down the kitchen supply-ware street trying not to get too distracted by everything to look at, especially those items you’d like to own. But, you tell yourself that there is plenty of time after lunch, and you find the pide place.

Lured by the street display, you enter, you find a stool, you order your custom pide. A word of warning here: most are spread out ready to put into the oven with their meat topping, but they are quite willing to customize one to your specifications. We chose egg, pepper and cheese for one, and egg and cheese for another. When it pops out of the oven, they slice it with their speciality knife, and serve it.

Once you are back home with all your Turkish goodies and are craving one of those pides, you will notice not only that it has ingredients readily available, but also that you can customize it with any topping that appeals to you. Here is the recipe that I used

For the dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour / 300 gr/ 15 oz.  + 1/4 c flour to roll out dough

1 package dried yeast  or 2 tsp / 14 g

1 cup warm water/ 8 fl. oz

1/4 t sugar

3 T olive oil

1 tsp salt

For the topping:

1 medium onion, minced

1/2 lb. spinach leaves, washed and pat dried (this amount can vary according to your personal preference

4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled, 4 oz grated cheese (cheddar or mozzarella work well)

1 red pepper,  and cut in narrow strips

1 Tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (optional)

1 T olive oil to soften onion and pepper + 1 tbsp. to brush before baking

Salt (optional, feta cheese is often very salty) and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 egg, beaten, for brushing + 1 egg for topping (if desired)

Instructions:

It is best to prepare this in two phases since your dough will need to rise between the time that you prepare it and the time you pop your pide into the oven.

1. Put ½ cup warm water in a small bowl and stir in the dried yeast. If the water is too hot, it will kill your yeast and if it’s too cold, your dough won’t rise. I have found that if it’s the exact temperature of your body (which you discover by testing with your finger), it is perfect. Turkish cooks mix with their fingers. Americans tend to whisk the yeast. Either way, dissolve the yeast in the water adding 1/4 t of sugar to activate the yeast. Set aside until frothy (about 5 minutes).
2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture and 2 Tbs. of olive oil. Add the remaining ½ cup warm water. Draw the flour in from the sides to the center and work the mixture into a dough. Knead for 3 -5 minutes, until you reach a soft, smooth dough. Since stickiness is part of the way this recipe is made,  add the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil using the additional 1 Tbsp. of flour if necessary. You should have a soft pliant dough.
3. Place the dough in large bowl and cover (some cooks prefer a cloth and some prefer plastic wrap). Leave in a  warm place for at least 1 hour until doubled in size; it will not hurt it if it rises for longer.
4. When you are ready to prepare your filling, preheat the oven to 375 F/ 220 C. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a wide heavy pan and stir in the onions and, a few minutes later, the peppers. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, until they start to soften taking care not to let them brown. Turn the heat off and stir in the spinach, red pepper paste (if using) and combine well. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper; it’s best to add the cheese directly on to the bread.
5. Once the dough is risen, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for a minute then divide the dough into two pieces and roll into two balls.  Roll the dough balls into 2 long oval shapes of about 8”x16”, with a thickness similar to pizza crust, about 1/8″.
6. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the 2 oval doughs on the tray.
7. Spread the filling evenly over the 2 flat breads incorporating whatever cheeses you using, leaving a rim of approximately 1/2″ as a border with no filling. Fold in the sides to act as lip to keep the filling intact. Squeeze the oval dough at each end to make it pointy. At this point, if desired, you can crack an egg over the mixture, but this is completely optional.
8. Beat an egg in a small bowl and mix it with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Brush the edges of dough with this mixture. Bake for 25 minutes, until the pide is golden brown and crispy at the edges.
9. Once cool, cut into diagonal slices and serve with a generous helping of red pepper and, if you are lucky enough to have it, freshly ground Anatolian oregano.

 

Thank you to Franklin Sciacca for the photos and to Melinda Reyes for the Anatolian oregano.