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Turkish Pide Flatbread (Ramazan Pidesi)

This beautiful but easy focaccia-like bread is soft, light, and with an open textured crumb.

Made with a simple no-knead dough, you'll want to make it again and again to accompany meze dishes like hummus, to eat alongside soups, stews and meats, or even use it for sensational sandwiches.

Makes one large round loaf but you could divide the dough and make two smaller if preferred.

It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.

Course Side Dish, Bread
Cuisine Turkish
Keyword no knead bread, easy
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Dough proving time 2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 8 at least
Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

  • 500 g strong white bread flour (plus extra for sprinkling)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp instant yeast (i.e. the type that can be added directly to flour without being activated first)
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 300 - 350 ml warm water (see Recipe Notes)
  • olive oil (for greasing)

Topping (egg and yogurt can be replaced with more olive oil if preferred)

  • 1 small egg
  • 1 heaped tsp full fat yogurt (optional)
  • 1 rounded tsp white sesame seeds
  • 1 rounded tsp nigella seeds

Instructions

  1. Make the dough (see Recipe Notes for an overnight version)

    Put the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and stir together.

    Pour in 200 ml of the warm water and begin stirring to form a dough. Gradually add more water (you may not need it all) to create a wettish, shaggy, but not sloppy dough: see image in the blog post for how it should look.

    Cover and leave in a warm place until bubbly and roughly doubled in size (approx. 45 - 90 min).

  2. Stretch and fold the dough

    With slightly wet hands, stretch and fold the dough by lifting up the top edge (think of it as 'north') then folding it into the middle. Repeat with the 'east', 'south' and 'west' sides.

    Repeat the process twice more to get a plump, relatively round piece of dough.

  3. Shape the dough

    Put a large piece of baking paper on a tray, board or similar (this will help you transfer the dough to the baking sheet later) and sprinkle flour over it.

    Scrape the dough onto the floured paper, cover with the upturned bowl and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

    Dip your fingers in olive oil and rub them over the top of the dough. Now start to pat it out into a circle 28 - 30 cm in diameter. If the dough springs back a lot, leave it to relax a little longer then try again.

    Ensure the top of the dough has a coating of olive oil then cover with a piece of cling film. Set aside until a finger pushed into the dough leaves an indent rather than immediately springing back (30 - 45 minutes approx.).

    Meanwhile: preheat the oven to 220°C /200°Fan /Gas 7 /425°F with a 30 cm round baking tray on the middle shelf.

  4. Add the glaze and pattern (see blog images for the pattern you're aiming for)

    Crack the egg into a small bowl, along with the yogurt if using, and whisk together. Brush a layer all over the dough. (Alternatively, just brush with more olive oil).

    Using the tips of two or three fingers, make indents in a circle all around the dough a few centimetres in from the edge: press all the way down to the bottom of the dough without going through it.

    Now make a series of straight lines from one side of the circle to the other.

    Give the tray/board a quarter turn, then make another series of lines crossing the first to create a diamond pattern.

  5. Bake

    Sprinkle the sesame and nigella seeds over the dough.

    Remove the preheated baking tray from the oven and carefully slide the bread, still on its paper, onto the hot tray.

    Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

    After 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180°C /160°Fan /Gas 4 /350°F and take the tray and bread out.

    Discard the tray and paper then return the bread to the oven, placing it directly on the oven shelf. Bake until cooked all the way through (it should sound hollow when tapped underneath): 5 - 10 minutes.

  6. When done, transfer the bread to a wire rack, covered with a cloth for a soft exterior, and cool until just a little warm before eating.

    Best eaten on the day of making, but can be warmed and refreshed either in an air fryer, moderate oven (sprinkle with water first) or a few seconds in a microwave.

    Can also be frozen and reheated as above.

Recipe Notes

Warm water. Ideally, the temperature of the water should be 38 degrees Centigrade. If you don't have a food thermometer then the water should be pleasantly warm if you put a finger in it, not hot. If in doubt, err on the side of cooler: the dough will take longer to rise, but hot water will kill the yeast. For a richer flavour, you can replace some or all the water with milk.

Overnight dough. Making dough the night before baking can develop more flavour in your breads. For Ramazan Pidesi, make as per the instructions but use cold liquid instead of warm. You can also reduce the yeast to 1 tsp and also leave out the sugar if you wish. Cover, leave at room temperature overnight or for 12 - 14 hours, then proceed with the recipe from step 2.