Pide

Turkish Bread

This is a time consuming recipe as most breads are but the end result was well worth it.

Ingredients

For the ferment

200g of water at 20°C
150g of "00" flour
7g of fresh yeast

For the dough

150g of water at 20°C
1 tablespoon of olive oil plus extra for folding
375g of "00" flour
10g of fine sea salt
sesame and nigella seeds for the topping

Method

Mix the ingredients for the ferment together and cover with a cloth. Leave in a warm room for 2 hours, giving the mixture a stir after the first hour. It should have doubled in size.

To make the dough whisk the water and oil into the ferment then mix in the flour and salt to make a soft, sticky dough. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Rub oil all over the surface of the dough, then scrape onto an oiled work surface. Knead the dough every 10 minutes for 30 minutes then fold the dough every 40 minutes for the next 2 hours. The dough is now ready to be shaped.

Divide the dough into 6 even pieces. Round on a floured surface then cover with a tea towel and leave for 15 minutes. Roll each ball into an oval shape about 1cm thick then cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220°C. Transfer the pides to a floured baking tray. Brush lightly with water, then sprinkle on sesame and nigella seeds. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.