Ispanakli Pide ~ Turkish Pizza

Pide are Turkish flat bread shaped like a boat. The filling used is spinach, feta and onion. I first came across these pide when Varada posted it last Fall. I bookmarked and recipe and wanted to bake for this marathon. I completely forgot about it until I saw Pavani’s post.

I made this for dinner 2-3 days ago and Mr.U liked these a lot. He thought this was the best bake I baked for this marathon, that is of all the bakes he has tasted, which are very few. He said the presentation was good and was tempted to tasted it right away. On the contrary, I though it was not presented well. I had some difficultly shaping the pide. If you notice, the one to the left in the picture is totally off shape. I have rolled the dough using a rolling pin, filled it with toppings and then transferred it to the baking tray. As I tried lifting, it almost fell apart. Then I remembered Pavani mentioning that she found it easier topping the pide after placing them on the sheet. The other 3 pide I shaped pressing it using my fingers. My topping was a little too much but we liked the extra topping. To tempt Mr.U to taste these, I topped couple of pide with pepperoni.

By the time I finished baking, U was home and was waiting to eat. He was willing to wait for 15 minutes until I finished taking pictures but I was completely blank and was in no mood to take pictures. I took a quick picture with my point and shoot camera. I even thought of posting something else today and post these pide later, after taking better pictures. After doing so many bakes last few weeks, I did not feel like redoing it. Pardon the photo. I will try to replace it when I take better pictures.

Source: Binnur's Turkish Cookbook
Total Time: 107 - 125 minutes
Preparation: 20 - 30 minutes
Resting Time: 75 - 80 minutes
Baking Time: 12 - 15 minutes
Yields: 4
Serves: 2 - 3

Ingredients:

Dough –

• 1 packet (.25oz or 7 grams) Active Dry Yeast
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• ¼ cup + ¾ cup Warm Water
• 288 grams (2 ¼ cup) All-Purpose Flour (more if necessary when kneading)
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. Olive Oil

Topping –

• 7-8 oz. Spinach, chopped or 3 ½ - 4 cups chopped Spinach (I used baby spinach)
• ½ cups Feta Cheese, crumbled (I used ¼ lb. which was a little over ½ cup)
• 1 small – medium sized Onion, sliced
• 1- 2 Garlic Cloves, chopped (I used 2 cloves)
• 2 tbsp. Red Pepper Paste, mild (I used 3 – 4 tbsp. used homemade paste)
• 14 – 16 Pepperoni Slices (This is my addition and used for only two pide)

Glaze –

• 1 tbsp. Yogurt mixed with 2 tbsp. Water (I forgot to glaze my pide 🙁 )

Preparation:

• Dough – In a small bowl take warm water (microwave for 20 seconds), mix sugar and yeast. Keep it aside for 5 – 10 minutes until forth is formed and is bubbly.
• In a large bowl sift together flour and salt. Add yeast mixture, ¾ cup warm water, 2 tbsp. oil and mix to form dough. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth. Dough was very sticky and I added about 2 – 3tbsp of flour when kneading. It was still sticky.
• Place the dough in an oiled bowl and roll the dough once so that oil is coated all over the dough. Cover and let the dough rise until it doubles in volume, about an hour. While the dough is resting, prepare the topping.
• Punch down the dough and knead well to remove any air bubbles. Cut the dough into 4 equal parts using a knife or divide into 4 parts. Knead each part well and make a ball. Cover and keep the balls aside for 15 - 20 minutes.
• Topping – When the dough is kept aside for can make the topping. Sauté onion in oil until soft, add garlic and sauté for a minute or two.
• Once the onion cools, add feta, spinach and red pepper paste. Give it a good toss and keep aside. If you do not have much time, can toss spinach and feta to hot onion mix but it is better to let the onions to cool. I made my topping when the dough was kept aside for 2nd rise for 15 - 20 minutes. Hence mixed spinach feta when the onions were still hot.
• Making the Pide - Pre-heat the oven to 475 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Lightly flour the rolling surface and flatten each dough ball into a long oval shape using hands. Repeat it with other dough balls. One can use a rolling pin to make an oval shape but flour the surface well as the dough is sticky and could stick to the surface. I found it easy shaping it using my hands.
• Carefully transfer shaped dough to baking sheet. Divide topping equally and spread it evenly on all 4 shaped dough, leaving about ¾ - 1” around the edges. Arrange pepperoni on the spinach topping. I used pepperoni only on two. Fold the long sides towards the inside and twist the ends of the shaped dough to give a boat shape.
• Brush yogurt mixture along the edges and bake in a pre-heated oven on middle rack for about 12 – 15 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack and serve warm or cold.

Note:

• Red Bell Pepper Paste - I roasted red bell pepper to make the paste. On stove roast the pepper on fire, turning it around. I inserted a metal skewer into the pepper and then roasted. Once blisters are formed on the skin of the pepper, place in an aluminum foil and wrap it. Let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes. Peel off the skin, chop it and grind the pepper to paste. Do not add any water. Though I did not add any water, my paste was watery. I think I did not roast the pepper properly. Since the paste was water, I wished I had roasted the paste along with sauteed onions until the liquid evaporated.

To check out what I have posted for this marathon, check fire up the oven recap.