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.