Lahmacun (Turkish Thin-Crust Mince Flatbread)
لحم عجون (قیمے والی پتلی ترکی روٹی)
Lahmacun (say "lah-ma-joon") is sometimes called Turkish pizza, but it's much thinner and has no cheese. A soft dough is rolled almost paper-thin, spread with a raw paste of minced meat, tomato, red pepper, onion, garlic and parsley, and baked for just a few minutes in the hottest oven you have. The meat cooks right on the bread. You squeeze over lemon, pile on parsley and sliced onion with , roll it up and eat it with your hands.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr
- Prep: 40 min
- Cook: 20 min
- Medium
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the olive oil and enough warm water to make a soft, smooth dough. Knead for 5 minutes, cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.
For the topping, put the mince, onion, tomato, capsicum, garlic, parsley, both pastes, pul biber, cumin and salt in a bowl. Knead or blend in a food processor into a soft, spreadable paste.
Heat the oven to its highest setting (250°C or more) with a baking tray inside. Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll each one very thin, about 25 cm across.
Spread a thin, even layer of the topping right to the edges with your fingertips or the back of a spoon.
Slide onto the hot tray and bake for 6–8 minutes, until the edges are crisp and golden and the meat is cooked. Stack the cooked lahmacun on top of each other to keep them soft.
Serve hot with parsley, sumac onions and lemon wedges. Squeeze lemon over, add the onions and parsley, and roll up to eat.
Kitchen notes
The oven must be as hot as possible. A cool oven dries the dough before the topping cooks.
Chop the topping vegetables very finely, or blend them, so the paste is smooth and spreads thinly.
No oven? Cook each lahmacun on a large, heavy tawa, covered with a lid, over medium heat for 5–6 minutes until the meat is cooked and the base is crisp.
Turkey’s favourite street wrap
Lahmacun is sold everywhere in Turkey, from dedicated lahmacun salonu restaurants to street stalls, and is eaten as a quick lunch or a late-night snack. It comes from the south-east, around Gaziantep and Urfa, where it’s made with lots of red pepper and eaten fiery.
Thin is everything
The dough should be rolled as thin as you can manage. The topping is spread thinly too: a raw paste of mince with onion, tomato, pepper, garlic and herbs, almost like a meat chutney. It cooks directly on the bread in a blazing oven in just a few minutes, so the edges crisp while the centre stays soft enough to roll.
The way to eat it
Squeeze plenty of lemon over the top, pile on parsley and sliced onions mixed with , roll it into a tube and eat it with your hands. A glass of ayran is the classic drink with it.
In a Pakistani kitchen
Without a very hot oven, a large tawa with a lid works well, cooking from below while the trapped heat cooks the topping. Ready-made samosa-roll or thin tortilla wraps can stand in for homemade dough in a hurry.
Serving
Serve hot, straight from the oven, with lemon wedges, parsley, sumac onions and çoban salatası.
Questions people ask
Is lahmacun the same as pide?
No. Lahmacun is round, paper-thin and covered edge to edge with a thin layer of raw mince. Pide is boat-shaped, thicker and has a fuller filling, sometimes with egg or cheese.
Can I make the dough ahead?
Yes. After rising, punch it down and keep it in the fridge for up to a day. Bring to room temperature before rolling.
Can I use ready-made tortillas or rotis?
Yes, as a shortcut. Spread the topping on thin wraps and bake for 5–6 minutes. They won't be as soft and chewy, but they're quick.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 380
- Protein
- 17 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
