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

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese, tomatoes; zeytinli mini pizza

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese, tomatoes; zeytinli mini pizza

I love the savory pastries, pogaca and 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.

Mini pizzas with olives, tomatoes and cheese, freshly baked - delicious!

Mini pizzas with olives, tomatoes and cheese, freshly baked – delicious!

Recently I made these little pizzas with olives, tomato and cheese topping; they really are easy to make at home and have brought smiles all round!:) A favorite with children, as well and adults, they were a big hit. Mini pizzas are best to be enjoyed straight from the oven, but they also keep well for a few days. The next day (if any left), you can microwave them for 10 – 15 seconds. Or you can sprinkle a little water over them, cover and reheat at 180 C/350 F for 5- 8 minutes. They will be lovely, soft and delicious.

Shaping the mini pizzas; round Turkish tea glass or a mug works well.

Shaping the mini pizzas; round Turkish tea glass or a mug works well.

Tips: Make sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping so that it won’t make the filling watery and the pastry soggy. As for the cheese, you can use grated mozzarella, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese. For olives; Turkish, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well. To shape the mini pizza rounds, I used my tulip shaped glass Turkish tea glass, it worked perfectly. If you don’t have one, any glass or round mold in 7-8 cm diameter would work.

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese and tomatoes, Zeytinli mini pizza, ready to eat!

 I hope you enjoy these delicious mini pizzas with olives, cheese and tomatoes – Afiyet Olsun;

Ozlem

5.0 from 2 reviews
Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza
 
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!
Author:
Recipe type: Turkish Savory Pastries
Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine
Serves: 35 mini pizzas
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F
  2. 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.
  3. Stir in the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
  4. Add the melted butter and slowly pour in the milk & yeast mixture.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Once the dough has risen, punch down and divide 3 equal pieces and roll into balls.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Place a dessert spoonful of filling in each dough circle (in and around the dent).
  12. 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.
  13. Serve hot immediately. This recipe makes 35 mini pizzas; afiyet olsun!
Notes
Make sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping so that it won’t make the filling watery and the pastry soggy. As for the cheese, you can use grated mozzarella, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese. For olives; Turkish, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well. To shape the mini pizza rounds, I used my tulip shaped glass Turkish tea glass, it worked perfectly. If you don’t have one, any glass or round mold in 7-8 cm diameter would work.

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25 Responses to Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

  1. Cuisinedeprovence January 13, 2015 at 2:46 pm #

    Happy New Year Özlem! These pizzas look really cute and delicious!

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:05 pm #

      Happy New Year to you too Barbara, thank you so much, they were delicious: )

  2. Peri's Spice Ladle January 13, 2015 at 5:50 pm #

    Just love these delicious little bites…I can imagine them becoming very popular around here! xx Peri.

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:04 pm #

      You are right Peri, they were a huge hit with children, as well as adults, hope the boys enjoy them : ) many thanks, Ozlem xx

  3. jaz January 14, 2015 at 12:10 am #

    thanks so much for this recipe! i will be making them soon!

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:03 pm #

      Many thanks to you too Jaz, you’re very welcome!

  4. Cath January 14, 2015 at 4:30 am #

    Does the type of yeast matter? Active dry yeast? Quick rise? They look delicious.

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:00 pm #

      Merhaba Cath, I used active dry yeast, it worked well – many thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy them!

  5. senior dogs abroad January 14, 2015 at 5:18 am #

    Özlem, We’re big pizza fans. Mark always makes the dough. This recipe sounds like a great appetizer to serve to guests and since we have some coming this weekend, I’ll be sure he gets right to work! Thanks for the idea. xx J

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:03 pm #

      Sevgili Jolee, you are very welcome – great that you have a neat baker like Mark in the house – i hope you both enjoy them; afiyet olsun and many thanks for your support as always. Cok sevgilerimle, Ozlem xx

  6. Turkey's For Life January 14, 2015 at 10:22 am #

    The bufe along the harbour close to our house sells these -in their bigger version – and they’re so good to snack on. Love the idea of these mini ones. Going to try these. Ellerine sağlık! 🙂
    Julia

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:01 pm #

      Merhaba Julia, many thanks; I love all those big and small mini pizzas you can get at home – it is very satisfying to make your own too, hope you enjoy it – afiyet olsun!

  7. BacktoBodrum January 14, 2015 at 1:00 pm #

    Perfect for parties.

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2015 at 1:05 pm #

      Thank you BB, indeed : )

  8. Phil in the Kitchen January 14, 2015 at 10:09 pm #

    I never tire of pizza and these little ones sound ideal for sharing with friends. I must confess that for some reason olives are not my favourite thing on a pizza. (I know that’s odd and I can’t really explain it). I’m sure I could use an alternative, though.

    • Ozlem Warren January 15, 2015 at 9:18 pm #

      Thanks Phil, you are right, you can use different toppings; your favorite cheese, caramalised onions (work really well with feta), diced bell peppers also work well, as well as sauteed mushrooms; hope you enjoy it.

  9. Kirsty Aysu January 18, 2015 at 8:45 am #

    Hi I made these last night and got a little bit stuck. I am from the UK and living in turkey so not used to cup meseaurments (except for Turkish water glasses). When reading about the flour I wasn’t too sure how much to use. I have a spoon easy ring set and used the half cup measure (I’m guessing is american) but it seemed too much flour as I ended up only needing 2 cups (around 250gms). Could you please let me know when you refer to a cup what the equivalent is in either Turkish form or grams. Many thanks. Kirsty. Ps the pizzas that was made were delicious and my husband ate a ridiculous amount finishing them last night.

    • Ozlem Warren January 18, 2015 at 6:06 pm #

      Merhaba Kirsty, many thanks for stopping by and your note; I used 500 gr all purpose plain flour, equaling 4 cups (US), many thanks for this, I updated the recipe too. Sometimes the flour type, humidity etc all factor in the baking, I hope this helps – so glad you and your husband enjoyed the pizzas!

      • Notabaker March 13, 2016 at 2:57 am #

        FYI: 500 grams is equal to approximately 2 cups (US), not 4 cups. I went to make this delicious-sounding recipe and the dough wouldn’t come together–too much flour! So, I checked the cup conversion and discovered the error. I’ll have to try again on another night! Thanks for sharing your recipes.

        • Ozlem Warren March 14, 2016 at 9:19 pm #

          Merhaba, thank you for stopping by and your kind note; I checked the conversion, seems like 1 cup all-purpose flour (USDA) equals to 125 grams; I will go back and check the quantities here though, thank you for your note, appreciated. https://www.weekendbakery.com/cooking-conversions/

          • Notabaker March 16, 2016 at 4:25 pm #

            You’re right, Ozlem–I mistakenly used liquid measure for the conversion! My apologies. However, here’s what tripped me up: most pizza crust recipes that I’ve encountered use 2-3 cups flour for a similar ratio of wet ingredients like those in your recipe. I couldn’t get the dough to form with 4 cups–it’s just too much flour.

            So, I experimented with your recipe, and started with 2.5 cups and added flour tablespoon by tablespoon until I reached about 3 cups. Three seems to be the magic number! Other than that, i followed your recipe exactly.The pizzas came out beautifully (with the same yield), and I got to use my Turkish rolling pin! 🙂

          • Ozlem Warren March 16, 2016 at 9:09 pm #

            delighted to hear it, many thanks again! I will revisit myself too, huge thanks to you, so glad they turned up well for you and you got to use your oklava:)

  10. Ebru October 15, 2015 at 9:36 pm #

    Merhaba Ozlem,

    First off would like to express how much i love your website and all your receipes.

    I had the same issue with the measurement of the flour. Im from Australia (Turkish background) and using our standard cup measurements, however I found that 4 cups of flour was too much as the dough became crumbly and did not form at all.

    Not sure if I need to use less or not eg. 1 cup = 250ml which Im assuming is standard in general.

    Look forward to hearing back from you

    Ebru

    • Ozlem Warren October 16, 2015 at 3:41 pm #

      Merhaba Ebru, many thanks for your kind note – you are right, Australian cup measurement is a bit different than US cup measurement, I checked this site http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/369/weights+measurement+charts#cup and it says 1 cup (Australian) flour equals to 150 gr. So in that case, you will need a little more than 3 (Australian) cups of flour. I would start with that and see if you need any more. I do hope it helps, please let me know if I can help further – so glad you’re enjoying recipes at my website, cok tesekkurler!:)

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