Lahmacun - Restaurant-Style Crispy Recipe

1. Combine 1 water glass (about 200 ml / 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) of lukewarm water with half a tablespoon of dry yeast, stir, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Put 3 water glasses of flour in a mixing bowl, make a well in the center, and pour in the activated yeast mixture. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of salt. Knead everything together — the dough will be slightly sticky. Take it out of the bowl, brush the surface lightly with vegetable oil, return it to the bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel. Let it rest for 1 hour.
   For the filling:

3. In a bowl, combine 300 g of ground lamb, 2 grated tomatoes, 2 finely chopped long green peppers, 1 grated onion, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, half a bunch of finely chopped parsley, half a teaspoon of black pepper, and about 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly.

4. Dust your work surface with flour and turn the rested dough out onto it. Shape it into a log and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Dust each piece with flour and roll out thin with a rolling pin.

5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and dust it lightly with flour. Lay as many rolled-out dough rounds as fit on the tray; place the rest on a second tray.

6. Spread the meat filling over each round with your hand, pressing it gently to the edges. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) until the edges are golden and the base is crisp.

If you'd rather skip the dough-making, you can easily use store-bought bread dough instead. Click for the Easy Homemade Lahmacun Recipe!

Baking Tips

• If you have a pizza stone, dust it with flour and use it instead of the baking tray — it gives an even crispier base. Just make sure you preheat the stone in the oven from the start.

• You'll need a pizza peel to transfer the dough onto the hot stone, since you can't shape the dough directly on a scorching surface.