Lahmacun — Turkish Flatbread with Spiced Minced Meat

Paper-thin Turkish flatbreads topped with spiced minced lamb, tomato and pepper, served with lemon and parsley.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 1h 20m
Cook: 10 min
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • For the dough: 300g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • For the dough: 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
  • For the dough: 1 tsp salt
  • For the dough: 1 tbsp olive oil
  • For the dough: 180ml lukewarm water
  • 250g lamb mince
  • 1 small onion, finely grated
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, finely chopped and drained
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası)
  • 1 tbsp Turkish tomato paste (domates salçası) or tomato purée
  • 1 tsp pul biber (Turkish chilli flakes)
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • To serve: lemon wedges, sliced red onion, extra parsley

Method

  1. Mix the dough ingredients, knead for 10 minutes until smooth, then cover and leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled.

  2. Mix the lamb, onion, pepper, tomatoes, garlic, both pastes, pul biber, paprika, cumin, salt and parsley together to a spreadable paste.

  3. Heat the oven to its highest setting (about 250°C, 230°C fan) with two baking trays inside to heat up.

  4. Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll each as thinly as possible into a 22cm round on a floured surface. Spread each with a thin, even layer of the topping right to the edge.

  5. Slide onto the hot trays, in batches, and bake for 6 to 8 minutes until the edges are crisp and the base is lightly golden.

  6. Serve hot with lemon wedges, red onion and parsley. Squeeze over lemon and roll up to eat.