Lahmacun (Thin Turkish Meat Flatbread)

Name: Lahmacun (Thin Turkish Meat Flatbread)
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 300 g Plain flour; 180 ml Warm water; 1 tsp Instant yeast; 1 tsp Sugar; 1 tsp Salt; 1 tbsp Olive oil; 250 g Ground beef or lamb (for the topping); 1 Onion; 2 cloves Garlic; 1 Tomato; 1 Red or green pepper; 1 tbsp Tomato paste; 1 tbsp Red pepper paste (biber salçası), optional; 1 tsp Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber); 1 tsp Ground cumin; 1 tsp Salt; 2 lemons Lemon wedges and parsley, to serve

A paper-thin round of dough spread with a fine layer of spiced minced meat and baked in a fierce oven until crisp, then rolled up around parsley, onion and a hard squeeze of lemon.

Source

Recipe by Refika Birgül · 👨‍🍳 Chef · Istanbul-based Turkish cook and food writer, host of the YouTube channel Refika's Kitchen

Names of cooks and creators appear as source credit only. More Recipes Please is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them.

Refika Birgül · Refika's Kitchen (YouTube) — The source cited here is Refika Birgül's own lahmacun video on her YouTube channel Refika's Kitchen — a real, public recipe confirmed live through YouTube's oEmbed (author Refika's Kitchen). Lahmacun is a thin flatbread spread with spiced minced meat; the quantities and step wording in this entry are written for this book.

Cook: Refika Birgül

Watch it being made · 3 videos

Refika Birgül SERHAT DOGRAMACI The Mediterranean Dish

⏱ 120 min🍽 4 servings🔥 300 kcal🇹🇷 Turkey🌶️

HalalDairy-free

Steps

Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add the warm water and oil, and knead to a soft dough. Cover and leave to rise for about 1 hour until doubled.
Meanwhile, chop the onion, garlic, tomato and pepper very finely (or pulse in a processor to a rough paste) and mix with the meat, both pastes, the spices and salt.
💡 Chop the vegetables as small as you can. Big pieces steam and lift the topping off the bread instead of drying into it.
Divide the dough into 4. On a floured bench, roll each piece as thin as you can into a large round — thinner than you think it should be.
Spread a thin, even layer of the meat mixture right to the edge of each round, pressing it in. Slide onto a hot tray or stone.
Bake in the hottest oven you have (250°C or more) for about 8–12 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the meat is cooked. Roll up with parsley, sliced onion and plenty of lemon.
💡 The oven cannot be too hot here. A fierce heat sets the thin bread crisp before the topping can dry out.

💡 Tips

Lahmacun is eaten rolled, not sliced like pizza — pile on the salad and lemon, roll it into a tube and eat with your hands.
No red pepper paste? Leave it out and add an extra spoon of tomato paste — the bread is still very good.