After so many features on my IG profile, it seems like a must that I share the recipe of this  Super Easy Turkish Bread, or Pide. I’m adding it more as a journal entry, as the recipe is heavily inspired by the one by Lazy Cat Kitchen Blog. But I cannot help myself from posting it, as since we discovered it, it quickly became one of our bread staples. We made this Turkish bread for so many dinners, serving it with meze – for example it’s great with Hummus or Babaganush – with roasted meats and every time it’s a huge success. The best part is that this Turkish bread needs so little effort, and you can time the prepping for it to be ready when your guests arrive, so you can serve it warm with dinner.

Ingredients:

• 250g bread flour
• 7g instant dried yeast
• 200 ml + 4 tsp warm water
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for glazing
• handful of white and black sesame seeds

Step 1 – Place the water in a small bowl and add the yeast. Mix gently for a few seconds and let it rest until it creates a light foam on the top.

Step 2 – Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. In the middle of your mix, create a small well, and pour the foamy water & yeast mix in the well. Mix everything together with your hands. Yes, it will be sticky and hard to manipulate so only knead it until all ingredients seem to have become one dough.

Step 3 – Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to prove for one hour.

Step 4 – Once it has doubled in size, transfer the dough on a well floured surface, and shape the dough into a flat circle or oval shape. I do this by pushing the dough from the middle to the edges, taking care not to break it and making sure it stays 2-3 cm high.

Step 5 – Grease a baking sheet with some olive oil and place your shaped dough on the sheet. Then cover it with a tea towel and let it prove again for 45 minutes.

Step 6 – While the dough proves, you can start heating the oven at 250° C.

Step 7 – Now to the pillow shaping, which I love so much! With your finger tips, create dimples that draw some sort of inner circle within your shaped dough. Then do the same to create diagonal lines through the middle of the inner circle.

Step 8 – With the help of a brush, coat the top of the bread with olive oil. And finally sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Step 9 – Now put your bread in the oven. Bake it for 8 minutes at 250°C and then turn the oven temperature down to 200°C for another 5 minutes. The bread should be golden brown.

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