Turkish lahmacun — thin, crisp homemade flatbreads spread with spiced minced beef, tomato and chilli, baked until the edges char. Finished with parsley, onion and lemon. A street-food classic.
- 500g Strong White Bread Flour
- 10g Fast Action Yeast
- Sprinkling Corn Flour
- 2 Tomato
- 2 Green Chilli
- 4 Chopped Spring Onions
- Bunch Parsley
- 250g Ground Beef
- 2 tsp Chilli Flakes
- Pinch Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Allspice
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1 Red Onions
Video
Preparation
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, make a well in the middle, and sprinkle in the yeast. Pour 125ml water over the yeast, then flick flour over the liquid to create a layer. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes, until cracks appear on the surface of that layer.
- Use your hands to mix in 250ml more water along with 1 tsp salt, and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until elastic and no longer sticky, adding a little more flour if needed. Cover and leave to rise again in a warm place for 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Heat the oven to as high as it will go (about 240C/220C fan/gas 9) and sprinkle one or two baking trays thinly with cornmeal.
- Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, leave to stand briefly, then drain and slip off the skins. Halve the tomatoes, cut out the stalks, scoop out and discard the seeds, then chop the flesh.
- Halve the chillies lengthways, cut out the stalks, seeds and white inner membrane, then rinse. Cut lengthwise into fine strips, then crosswise into fine dice.
- Put the tomatoes, chillies, spring onions, finely chopped parsley, beef mince, spices, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper into a bowl and mix well.
- Knead the dough briefly, then divide into four pieces and shape each into a ball. Roll each ball into a thin circle, place on the prepared baking trays, and spread with a thin layer of the meat mixture.
- Bake each flatbread for 10–15 minutes, until the edges begin to darken. After removing from the oven, sprinkle the lahmacun with the roughly chopped parsley and sliced onion, then squeeze over a few drops of lemon juice. Serve straight away.
