This lahmacun recipe is a family favorite. Rolled-out thin dough that is topped with perfectly seasoned minced meat, generous amounts of garlic, onions, and fine diced sweet red peppers.
Furthermore, you do not need any special equipment. All you need is a glass bowl, rolling pin, and a nonstick baking sheet pan. Simple enough, let’s get started.
Lahmacun, pronounced [lah-ma-june] can be found all over Turkey. There are different varieties like sarimsakli lahmacun ( with garlic), soğanlı lahmacun (with onions), kemeli Lahmacun (with truffle), and zeytinli lahmacun ( with olives). All are great, I was aiming for more of an Antep-style lahmacun here. Some know it as Turkish pizza though the method of making it is entirely different.
How to make simple lahmacun dough
Firstly, add all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. When ready, add the water and fold and mix until a ball of dough forms.
Secondly, transfer the dough onto a flat surface dusted with all-purpose flour. Dust the top of the dough. Knead with your palms for five-minutes-straight—adding flour to the surface and to the dough as needed to prevent sticking.
Thirdly, put the dough back into the same bowl you started with and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or saran wrap. Allow the dough to rest and proof for one hour or until it doubles in size.
Finally, when ready, transfer the risen dough to a floured surface. Cut the dough into six even pieces. Shape each piece into a circle the best you can. With a rolling pin, create a thin circular shape. Add additional flour to the surface, to your hands, and to the rolling pin when necessary.
As you can see in the picture above, the dough is thin enough to where you can see the shape of my hand. If the dough is rolled too thick, your lahmacun will be too thick and puffy for traditional lahmacun.
However, if your dough is rolled too thin, it will be burned in the high heated oven and will be undesirably crunchy.
Tips for making lahmacun minced meat topping
Fine-dice all of the vegetables. In this case, you will fine-dice the red peppers, onion, mince the garlic, and finely chop the parsley. Aim for tiny, tiny, pieces of everything. The tinier, the better.
Message the meat. Once all of the spices and vegetables are added to the meat mixture, massage, and mix with your hands for NO less than five minutes. This is very important. You don’t want bland food now do ya?
Spread out the meat mixture with your fingertips evenly. Take your time. Take the mixture to the edge. This is not a pizza, there is no need to leave room for a crust.
I like to wet the ends of the dough with meat juices to prevent dried-out and off-white colored edges. Get every nook and cranny. Try to prevent any meatless areas in the center. Sometimes pressing with your palms can help.
How to serve lahmacun
Add an onion parsley salad, which can be a great choice to garnish your lahmacun. To make an onion parsley salad simple about 1 thin-sliced medium-sized onion, 1/2 cup (loosely packed) of plucked parsley leaves, 1 tsp sumac, a pinch of salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Toss to combine. Enjoy immediately.
While you can eat your lahmacun as you wish, squeezing lemon on all over and adding onion-parsley salad—then folding it into a wrap can be one of the best ways to enjoy it.
More delicious Turkish recipes
- Cold Brew Turkish Coffee
- Easy Cacik (Turkish Cucumber Yogurt)
- Instant Pot Turkish White Bean Stew | Kuru Fasulye
- The Best Ever Vegan Turkish Kisir Salad (vegan)
Important Takeaways
Make sure to rest the dough for 1 hour. This will help relax the dough—making it more pliable when rolling it out.
Do not roll the dough too thin or too thick. If the dough is too thin, it will burn in the high temp oven. If the dough is too thick, then what you have made is a pizza, my friend.
Mix the meat mixture with your hands. This is very important. Touch and feel the seasoned meat. You know you’ve mixed enough once the mixture starts to perfume.
Be consistent. Roll each dough out the same. Add the same amount of topping to each one. In this recipe, you will have 6 rolled doughs and each one gets 4 tbsp of meat mixture—no more, no less. Be consistent!
Finally, you want to make sure to bake each lahmacun at an oven set at 500 ° F for 6-8 minutes. This will give you a nice caramelized flavor in the meat. Steamed meat? No thanks!
More Mediterranean Recipes You Will Love ♡
- Creamy Crimini Tuscan Chicken with Kale (without cream)
- Smokey Roasted Eggplant Dip with Tahini
- Marinated tomatoes over Seasoned Greek Yogurt
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a comment below and an honest rating. ♡
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Lahmacun Recipe (Baked!)
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 lahmacun 1x
- Diet: Halal
Description
Thin-crust lahmacun recipe with perfectly seasoned minced meat with generous amounts of garlic, onions, fine diced sweet red peppers, and baked until crispy around the edges.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cane sugar
- 2 tsp dried instant yeast
- 1 cup of lukewarm water
For the meat mixture
- 1/2 lb. ground beef or lamb
- 1/3 cup small-diced red bell pepper, packed
- 1/2 cup small-diced onion, lightly packed
- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley, lightly packed
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (do not use iodized)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste, scraped and leveled
- 2/3 cup of water
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Make the dough
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Mix well to incorporate the ingredients. Next, add the lukewarm water a little at a time. Mix and knead until a ball of dough forms. When ready, transfer the dough to a floured hard surface. Dust addition flour on top of the dough, and on your hands. Knead for five-minutes strait.
When ready, cover the bowl with a cloth or saran wrap and store at room temperature for one hour or until the dough doubled in size. While that is rising, let’s make the seasoned meat mixture.
Seasoned meat mixture
In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients. Mix well with YOUR HANDS for 5-minutes strait. You know the mixture is ready once it starts to perfume oniony, garlicky, goodness. Set aside until you are ready to work with your dough.
Putting it all together
Preheat the oven to 500 °F
Get the proofed dough and cut it into 6 even pieces. Flour a hard surface. You will work with one piece of dough at a time. Flour your hands, a rolling pin, and add a little sprinkle to the top of the dough. Roll out the dough to a thin circle. Roll slowly. Be patient. I like to roll the edges flat as well. Once again, this is not a pizza, there is no need to make the edges puffy.
Now that the lahmacun shape is created, dust off any excess flour that is left on the dough. Transfer the dough to a nonstick baking sheet pan. Make sure to spread out the dough evenly on the pan. Do not use parchment paper. It will burn.
Next, add 4 tbsp of the meat mixture to the top. Spread out the mixture with your fingertips. Do not press hard. Do not create holes. I like to bring the mixture to the edges. I even wet the spot with meat juices where the meat can’t reach. This will create nice golden edges.
Transfer the lahmacun into the preheated oven and cook for 6-8 minutes. Do not open the oven once it’s in there. Turn on your oven light and have a peek there.
Once baked, transfer to a heat-safe serving tray. I used my pizza stone or use another nonstick baking sheet.
Repeat each step until you have finished making all six lahmacuns.
To Serve
Serve with onion salad, additional sprigs of parsley, and lemon wedges.
Enjoy!
Notes
Do you have a dark nonstick baking sheet? If so, reduce the oven to 475 °F
Is the dough too sticky to handle? Add more flour as needed.
Do I have to let the dough rest? Yes.
This recipe contains halal beef.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: handmade & Baked
- Cuisine: Turkish
Keywords: Turkish lahmacun, lahmacun turkish pizza, homemade lahmacun
