Pide – a staple item in Turkish Cuisine. In Turkey, a table without bread is incomplete. Never ever consider entertaining guests without plenty of freshly baked bread! This particular bread is enjoyed especially during the month of Ramadan as part of a big feast. It goes well with soups, dips, and salads. Its freshly baked smell fills in the air in bakeries and patisseries. It has a lovely glossy finish thanks to the eggwash and slightly crunchy texture from the sesame /poppy seeds.
Although this bread is supposed to be enjoyed with soups, dips, and salads , in our household it is obliterated before even reaching the table as I leave it on the counter to cool down – it is a great snack and it makes me very happy to see my food being devoured. I make this a few times a year on special occasions, as it is very easy and the smell that wafts through the house is very enchanting and tempting – it attracts the entire household into my kitchen!
I highly recommend pide with Hummus, and my Red Lentil Soup for which the recipe is here.
As for the tips for preparing this bread – proving and kneading are the most important steps. For yeast, I use Allison Dry Active yeast.
It is very important that your yeast mixture -as in Step 1- gets frothy on the surface after 20 minutes in a warm place. If it does not, please do not waste your ingredients.
When mixing in the flour – be patient, initially, it will be sticky. If you have one, use a mixer with a bread mixing/kneading attachment. If you don’t, at the beginning use a big spatula to mix all the ingredinets and as the dough starts forming rub your hands with some olive oil and use your hands.
Serves 6-8 Prep time: 1 hr 30 mins.
Cook time: 20 min
INGREDIENTS
For the dough
- 300 grams plain flour, sifted
- 1/2 cup milk, warm
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried active yeast
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
For the Eggwash
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- In a small bowl,dissolve the sugar in milk , and then mix in the yeast by gently whisking with a fork. Leave it for 20 minutes in a warm place to allow for the yeast to be activated. The surface should be frothy.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, olive oil, salt, and butter. Gradually mix in the flour and water until a soft pliable dough is achieved.
- Cover the mixing bowl with a damp cloth and leave the dough to prove for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C in conventional mode.
- Split the dough into two. Work the dough on a clean floured surface, knead well with your hands. Flatten the dough to form a round/oval flat shape. Put the dough into a tray lined with baking paper. Using a blunt knife score the top of each round dough with a crisscross. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes.
- in the meantime prepare the topping by mixing the egg yolk, milk and vegetable oil. Brush this mixture all over the pide. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden, and serve warm.
