We Turks love these stuffed flat breads, Gozleme. Turks were originated from Central Asia, where they drifted towards Anatolia gradually and made their home. They have been making these stuffed flat breads called Gozleme since then and they are a much loved Turkish street food and a special part of Turkish breakfast. These popular snacks are cooked quickly on a hot griddle and can be filled with various fillings.
I previously made Gozleme with spinach and cheese filling, they became hugely popular. This time I made them with mashed potatoes, cheese and parsley; a comforting, delicious combination, another winner with family and friends. This gozleme is also a wonderful way to finish up leftover cooked potatoes and bits of cheese. I used feta cheese here, you can also use Turkish white cheese, grated cheddar cheese or mozzarella. I spiced up my gozleme with a little Turkish red pepper paste, biber salcasi; you can also use red pepper flakes instead if you are after a touch of spice.
I hope you enjoy making your own Gozleme, a wholesome, delicious street food at home. They go down very well with a glass of Turkish tea, cay or ayran, traditional Turkish yoghurt drink.
I love our savoury pastries in Turkish cuisine. Gozleme and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed hardback copies, as well as ebook and other options are available at this link; Signed copies are delivered worldwide including US and Canada here.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
- 1lb./ 16 oz. /3 cups plain flour
- 8g / 1 sachet instant dried yeast
- Pinch of salt
- 45 ml/ 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. plain natural yoghurt (preferably whole milk)
- About 260 ml/ 9 fl. oz. / 1⅕ cups water
- For the filling:
- 3 medium sized potato, cooked, skinned and mashed – about 2 ¼ cups -
- 5ml/1 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes or 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper paste (optional)
- 200gr/ 7 oz. Turkish white cheese or feta cheese, juice drained and crumbled.
- 28 gr/ 1 oz. / ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- 30 ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Nonstick pan or griddle to cook the Gozleme
- Combine about 150 ml / 5 fl. oz. warm water, yeast and salt in a small bowl, stir and cover. Stand in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture, olive oil, yoghurt and the remaining (about 110 ml/ 4 fl. oz./ ½ cup) water. Using your hand, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a dough. Knead thoroughly to form a soft dough. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, knead them and roll into balls. Place the balls on a floured surface, cover with a damp cloth and leave them to rest for 30 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mash the cooked potatoes with a fork or a masher in a large bowl. Drain the juice of the Turkish white cheese or feta cheese and crumble into the bowl. Stir in the chopped parsley, the red pepper paste or red pepper flakes (if you wish) and pour in the olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and combine all well. Your filling is ready.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the balls of the dough with a rolling pin into thin, flat rounds, about 40cm/16in diameter. Sprinkle a little flour as you roll the dough so that the dough won’t stick. Roll until you achieve a thin sheet of a flat round.
- Fold the left and right sides of the dough in a way for the edges to meet in the middle. Spread about 2 ½ - 3 tablespoons filling into the middle part of this flat sheet. Then fold the top and bottom edges over the filling, making sure all the filling is safely covered. Press edges together well to seal. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough balls.
- Heat a griddle or a non-stick pan, and brush one side of the gozleme with a little olive oil and place on the pan to cook for about 2 -3 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the uncooked side with a little olive oil and then flip it over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
- Brush both cooked sides of gozleme with a little olive oil -this will keep the gozleme moist. Cook the rest of the gozlemes the same way.
- You can either roll the Gozlemes to serve, or you can cut in halves or quarters. Ayran, Turkish yoghurt drink or Turkish tea, cay would go really well next to Gozleme.
Özlem’ciğim, We love gözleme. It’s great to go to a fair or stop by a roadside tea house and see a gözleme set up – we always indulge. But I never thought of making them myself! You always post recipes like this to challenge us! Your cooking class sounds like just the thing to get us going. Wish I could be there. Çoook teşekkürler, ailene selam söyle, öptük. xoxo J
Merhaba sevgili Jolee’cigim, many thanks for your kind note. One of the things I greatly miss at home is that accessibility of the mouth watering Gozleme! Well, I can’t get that here in England so make my own; it is delicious, satisfying and takes me right back home!:) Huge thanks for your kind words for my Turkish cookery classes in London, I am very excited to cook with fellow foodies. Cok selam ve sevgilerimle, Ozlem xxx
Mmm, these look yummy, Özlem. 🙂 Love gözleme but have never made our own – we tend t leave it to the ladies in the villages. Might try, one day, though. 🙂
Julia
Merhaba Julia, many thanks – I don’t blame you, as I can imagine you have a generous accessibility to Gozleme in Fethiye! Making at home is hugely satisfying too though, if you’d like to have a go sometime – many thanks for stopping by : )
scrummiest fast food ever!
So agree!:) Selamlar, Ozlem x
I could just eat one now. Can’t wait to get back to Turkey
Thank you BB, enjoy Gozleme at home, sevgiler, Ozlem x
I love that filling of potato – it seems exactly right for this time of year. A perfect way to deal with leftovers too.
Hi Phil, many thanks for stopping by – indeed a wonderful way to use leftovers, glad you enjoyed the recipe, my best wishes, Ozlem
Could you please send your recipes with English measurements?
Merhaba dear Dorothy, thank you for your note; I try to publish my recipes both with cup as well as in gr/oz as in this recipe. I will revisit a few recipes missing and will do that gladly, best wishes, Ozlem
Fantastic Recipe! I’m married to a Turk and has been loving exploring and making Turkish food! Delish!
Many thanks Karen, afiyet olsun!
Thanks for your detailed recipe! I’m wondering if I can leave out the yeast for the dough though?
Merhaba Dyla, you’re welcome, this dough does require yeast, the results may not be as good without it I am afraid, hope it helps.
I just used this recipe recently! Beautiful!
So glad to hear it, afiyet olsun!
Hi Ozlem – we recently had Gozleme for the first time while visiting London (on a family trip from Northern England!). There was a Turkish food stall in Spitalfields market and I was desperate to try them after a previous visit by only myself and my Husband but it was way to hot for hot food at that time so didn’t – we made a special effort to return and I was not disappointed – the taste was amazing and reminded me of all our Greek holidays. I have been craving them again so, I did a search and came across your recipe – I think it is the most authentic I will get so am going to try this weekend, the ladies in your pic remind me of the ladies on the stall I saw making the Gozleme. It was so popular I had to queue and was fascinated watching them – will let you know how I get on!!!!
Merhaba dear Trudi, many thanks for your lovely note – we love gozleme too and always brings happy memories of home, Turkey – really hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to hearing how you get on, Afiyet Olsun!:) Ozlem x
Hello Ozlem, I was looking for some interesting things to cook for dinner tonight, and I came across your site. WOW, this Gozleme looks delicious, and I’m going to try it out tonight. Thank you for your lovely recipes, all the very best to you,
Gail
Merhaba dear Gail,
So lovely to get your notes, many thanks – I hope you enjoy Gozleme; so glad you enjoy my youtube videos too. Afiyet olsun and best wishes, Ozlem