For a few weeks now, my son has been asking me to make Turkish Pide Bread. He calls it Turkish Pizza. In many ways pide is similar to pizza, with a somewhat different taste. Honestly, I like it better than pizza. This recipe yields 6 quite large pide breads. It requires some time to make it, and I got a bit tired, but seeing my son so happy to have one of his favorite foods, it was well worth it! 🙂

Pide dough:

• 4 1/2 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (250 ml) warm water
• 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil

Filling:

• 1/2 lb (250 g) tomatoes
• 2 medium onions
• 1/2 long red sweet pepper or red bell pepper
• 1/2 large green bell pepper
• 3/4 lb (350 g) ground beef
• 1 TBSP Vegeta spice (not in original recipe, but I use it)
• salt, pepper, cumin to taste
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 6 thick slices of Swiss cheese (or any cheese you like)

Preparation:

1. First prepare the dough. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the warm water, cover and let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes. When bubbly, pour into flour and mix well. Add salt and olive oil and form a ball of dough. Let it raise for about 30 – 45 minutes.

2. While dough is resting, prepare filling. Put 3 tbsp of olive oil into a pan. Place tomatoes in boiling water for a minute, peel them and coarsely chop them. Slice onions into thin rings, chop red and green bell pepper, saute it in olive oil shortly. Add ground beef, add all the spices and tomatoes and saute only until beef gets just brown. Set aside.

3. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long oval shape. Fold the sides inward and then twist one end to the right and the other end to the left. Put them onto a greased large baking pan. Place a slice of cheese in each pide.

4. Divide filling into 6 equal amount and put on the top of each pide. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!