Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

By Ozlem Warren - http://ozlemsturkishtable.com/

Ozlem: 'I love the savory pastries, pogacas and these little melt-in-the-mouth mini pizzas with various fillings sold in bakeries, firin and patisseries, pastanes, in Turkey. We Turks love them for breakfast as well as for a morning or afternoon snack with cup of tea, cay; such a delicious treat. They are easy to make at home and a real crowd pleaser, hope you enjoy them - afiyet olsun'

Serves: 35 mini pizzas
  • 375 gr/ 3 cups all-purpose plain flour
  • 7gr dry yeast (1 sachet)
  • 5 ml/ 1 tsp. salt
  • 10 ml/ 2 tsp. sugar
  • 240 ml / 8 fl. oz. / 1 cup warm milk
  • 15 ml/ 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 50 gr / 2 oz. butter, melted
  • For the filling:
  • 3 small tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
  • Handful - about 15- green and black olives, roughly chopped
  • 200 gr / 7 oz. / 2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
  • 15 ml / 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • For the topping:
  • 1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F

Combine the warm milk, sugar and dry yeast in a small bowl and mix well. Let it stand for 5 minutes so that it gets foamy.

Stir in the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the melted butter and slowly pour in the milk & yeast mixture.
Knead well with your hands for a few minutes, until the dough comes together. Have a drizzle (about 1 tbsp.) of olive oil in your hands if the dough gets too sticky; knead and shape the dough like a ball.
Place the dough in the large bowl and cover with a cling film and a tea towel. Let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Prepare the filling while the dough is rising. Deseed the tomatoes and olives and chop finely. Place them in a medium sized bowl and stir in the grated cheese and olive oil. Combine and mix well. Set the filling aside.

Once the dough has risen, punch down and divide 3 equal pieces and roll into balls.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the ball of dough with a rolling pin into thin flat rounds in ⅓ cm (0.14”) width. Using a round mold or round glass of 8 cm/3” in diameter, cut the flat dough into circles. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Line baking parchment paper on your baking tray and place the dough circles on it. Using your finger, make a little dent in the middle of each dough circle.
Place a dessert spoonful of filling in each dough circle (in and around the dent).
Brush the pastries with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven (180 C/ 350 F) for 15 minutes or until golden around the edges.

Serve hot immediately. This recipe makes 35 mini pizzas; afiyet olsun!
Sergen Erkarslan
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Turkish Flat breads with Cheese, Tomato and Egg; Yumurtali Pide

Turkish Flat breads with Cheese, Tomato and Egg; Yumurtali Pide

By Ozlem Warren - http://ozlemsturkishtable.com/

Ozlem: 'This pide hails from the Kayseri region in Middle Anatolia, where locals would also use region’s wonderful delicacy, Pastirma – dried cured and thinly sliced beef over the topping. An egg is cracked in the middle of each pide at the last 4-5 minutes of baking and then baked further until the egg is just set, delicious. I hope you enjoy this delicious, easy to make Yumurtali Pide; you can alter the topping and add on your choice of cheese or slices of dried cured beef or pastrami too. This wonderful Pide would also go down very well for Turkish style breakfast or brunch.'

Serves: 8

For the dough:
300 gr/ 10oz/2 ½ cups all-purpose plain flour
7gr dried yeast
5 ml/ 1 tsp. sugar
5 ml / 1 tsp. salt
4 fl. oz./112 ml/1/2 cup warm water
2 ½ fl oz. / 70 ml / ⅓ cup warm milk
45ml/3 tbsp. olive oil
1 egg + 5 ml/ 1 tsp. olive oil to brush the pide
For the topping:
60 gr / 2 oz. medium cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
110 gr/ 4 oz. grated mozzarella
½ medium tomato, deseeded and thinly sliced
¼ green bell pepper, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 eggs (one egg for each pide) to crack over pide topping
Red pepper flakes / Turkish pul biber to sprinkle over the egg

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F

Stir in the dried yeast and sugar in a small bowl and pour in ½ cup warm water. Dissolve and mix the yeast in water. Set aside for the yeast mixture to get frothy for 5 minutes.

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in 2 tbsp. olive oil and the yeast mixture. Also stir in the warm milk to the flour mixture. Using your hands, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a dough. On a floured surface, knead for 3 -5 minutes, until you reach a soft, smooth dough. The dough may get sticky as you knead, so pour the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil and add a little more flour if needed to help shape into a soft dough.

Grease a large bowl with a little olive oil, place the dough and cover with a cling film. Leave the dough in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.

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. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough balls into 2 oval shapes of 20 cm x 40 cm (about 8”x16”), with ½ cm (0.2”) thickness.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and place the 2 oval flat bread dough on the tray.

Spread the grated mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, sliced peppers and tomatoes evenly over the 2 flat breads, leaving 2 cm at the edges as a border with no filling (I’ve found it’s easier to spread the filling while the oval dough is in the tray). Fold in the sides to act as border to keep the filling intact. Squeeze the oval dough at each end to make it pointy.

Beat an egg in a small bowl and mix it with 1 tsp. olive oil. Brush the edges of dough with this mixture. Bake for 18 minutes, until the pides golden and crispy at the edges.

Take the pide tray out of the oven and carefully crack an egg in the middle of each pide. Return to the oven and bake for another 4-5 minutes; take care not to overcook the egg; it should be just set with the yolk still runny.

Sprinkle red pepper flakes, Turkish pul biber over the egg, cut in slices and serve while warm.

Sergen Erkarslan
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