Home made Turkish round flat bread, Pide Ekmek
Firin, bakery in Long Market, Uzun Carsi; fond memories of getting our daily bread from there.
Bread, ekmek is a major staple in Turkish cuisine and appears generously at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bread is treated with high respect and rarely wasted at home; stale bread is used in spreads like in this Walnuts and red pepper paste dip, Muhammara – Cevizli Biber, in soups as well as in puddings. Traditional oval or round pide bread, Ekmek, is a national favorite, traditionally cooked in hot clay oven. Pide bread is also a must in Turkish tables and highly consumed during the Ramadan period to break the fast. I have lots of fond childhood memories of strolling through Uzun Carsi, Long Market in Antakya to pick up the freshly baked bread and how delicious it was. Grandma would always order a spare one as she knew we had a soft spot for pide bread and half would be gone on the way home – just irresistible.
Stretch the dough into large, uneven rounds and indent the dough with your fingertips.
This version of pide (recipe adapted from Ghillie Basan’s Classic Turkish Cookery book) has a crispy crust but soft in texture, great to serve with mezzes and mop up the delicious juices of the casseroles and indispensable at Turkish Breakfast. Important tip: To keep the pides soft and warm, place a dry towel over them when fresh out of the oven. You can also reheat them before eating; just sprinkle them with water and place in a hot oven (180 C/ 350 F) for a few minutes.
Turkish pide bread, pide ekmek, straight from the oven
Pide bread and many more Turkish pastries and specialties are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland, available to order at this link with a prompt delivery, if you’d like to get it.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
- 1 lb. / 450 gr all-purpose plain flour
- ¼ oz. 7 gr dried yeast or ½ oz. / 15 gr fresh yeast
- ½ tsp. sugar
- 6 fl. oz. / 175 ml lukewarm water
- 5 ml/ 1 tsp. salt
- 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. thick yoghurt
- 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp. nigella seeds or poppy seeds
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C
- Cream the yeast with sugar in half of the lukewarm water, leave to froth.
- Sift the flour with the salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast, olive oil, yoghurt and the rest of the water. With using your hands, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a sticky dough. Add a little more water if necessary. Knead until the dough is smooth and leaves the sides of the bowl (drizzle a little oil in your hands to help shape the dough, if needed too).
- Continue to knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is elastic and smooth. Roll it in the few drops of olive oil in the bowl, cover with a damp towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 1- 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat 2 baking sheets.
- Once doubled, punch the dough down, knead again and divide it into two pieces. Knead each piece well. Flatten them out with the heel of your hand and stretch them into large, uneven rounds or ovals, creating thick lip around the edges. Indent the dough with your fingertips.
- Lightly oil two hot baking sheets and place them in the oven for 2 minutes. Place the pide on them and brush the pides with the beaten egg. Then sprinkle the nigella (or poppy) seeds and sesame seeds over the top.
- Bake the pides for 18 – 20 minutes, until lightly golden with a crisp crust around the edges. Transfer them to a wire rack. If you want them to retain their softness, wrap them in aluminum foil or in a dry towel while still warm.
Ozlem, I absolutely love the poster that’s been made for your classes. You look so pretty, young and chipper! Imsee they already love you. Have a great time in Jordan. We love pide, the recipe sounds so delicious – thanks. xxoo J
Sevgili Jolee, very kind of you as always, many thanks for the lovely compliments : ) So kind of them to make the poster, feel chuffed and blushed : ) Glad you enjoyed the pide, a favorite with us too, it was fun making at home. Cok sevgiler, Ozlem xx
this looks so good. i must try it! i’ve never made it this way.
Merhaba Jaz, many thanks for stopping by – hope you enjoy this pide!
Yay! Thanks for posting this! Ive tried making this before and it was a disastee. Ill try your recipe and let you know how it turns out !
Many thanks Cali, hope you enjoy it – it is crispier than the clay oven baked ones and it really helps to wrap the pides after baking in foil or dry tea towel to keep moist – afiyet olsun, look forward to hearing how it turns out for you!
Good luck in Jordan, Özlem. I love pide and am so glad we can now buy them throughout the year from the baker, rather than only at Ramadan.
Pide at home is a real treat BB, so glad it is around all year now, enjoy for us too!
This bread sounds absolutely divine, I’ve had it before and love the earthy taste. Good luck for the course in Jordan, I have no doubt they’ll absolutely adore you and your cooking, which always comes from the heart:) xxPeri
Indeed a delicious bread Peri, thank you for your kind note – look forward to the Amman course, many thanks for the vote of confidence 🙂 Ozlem xx
Congratlations Özlem, a beautiful poster and I wish I could be in Amman to learn from you.
Many thanks dear Barbara, very kind of the folks in Jordan to design it – how i wished you were there too!:) Ozlem x
I’ve been very lazy in recent months and I’ve hardly baked bread of any kind. This recipe has reminded me that I must. It looks lovely. I hope the course goes really well.
You must, dear Phil, I absolutely love all your baking and creations – look forward to the new ones. Glad if this pide inspires : ) Ozlem
Can we freeze the bread
Yes, you can Cali, I froze some of mine too. When you want to reheat it, you can sprinkle some water over it and reheat in the oven 180 C/ 350 F for about 10 mins or so. If you would like a soft texture, you can wrap in aluminum foil and reheat it.
Mmm, this looks lovely Özlem. When we buy bread, we usually pop it in the oven for a minute or to just before we eat it, too. Yummy. Looks like you’re enjoying your Jordan experience from the photos on Facebook and Google+. Great to see. 🙂
Julia
Many thanks for stopping by Julia, I am very much enjoying our Jordan course – and pide was a big hit!:) Ozlem
Love your recipes….will try the bread recipe soon
Merhaba Sana, many thanks for your kind note : ) hope you enjoy the pide bread, selamlar, Ozlem
hi Ozlem. this looks grate. i hope you don’t mind me asking a couple of questions. what type of baking sheet do you recommend? metal or other types? i live in the U.S i think you are familiar with the types of baking sheets available here so please recommend the best ones for this bread recipe . my final question is: approximately what is the diameter (in inches or centimeters) of the round flattened, stretched and ready to be baked dough? thanks a lot in advance for your time and help.
Merhana, thank you for stopping by – non stick baking sheets would work best here. About 25 cm / 9.8 ” in diameter is what a work on normally, hope this helps and you enjoy the Pide, many thanks, Ozlem
I have many turkish students coming to work for me. Over the last year I have learned so much about turkish Cusino and pide ekmek was a special request. I try to make my j1’s feel at home so I am so excited to give them the gift of this wonderful pide! Teşekkürler!
Merhaba Jess, what a kind note, thank you for stopping by. Food has such a power to connect us all and take us back home, I am sure your Turkish students will very much appreciate your kind gesture, I hope you all enjoy Pide Ekmek! Afiyet olsun, Ozlem
Unlike most of the mooks here, I tried your recipe and it is great, thanks.
So glad to hear you enjoyed my pide recipe, many thanks – afiyet olsun! Ozlem
Excellent. Beats any store bought pita bread.
We use Pide in our cafe and our supplier has had trouble so we used this recipe to make our own…………..if I had more time I’d bake it always afert trying it fresh using this recipe! superb, inspired to do a mezze or similar.
Merhaba Simon, delighted to get your wonderful feedback on my Pide recipe, so glad you’ve enjoyed it, afiyet olsun! Ozlem