Lahmacun — Thin Turkish Flatbread with Spiced Meat
Lahmacun is a paper-thin Turkish flatbread spread edge-to-edge with a finely chopped mixture of meat, tomato, peppers, onion, parsley, and pepper paste, then baked fast and hot until crisp at the rim but still flexible enough to roll.
Makes 8 | Prep 40 minutes, plus 30 minutes rest | Cook 5–7 minutes each
INGREDIENTS
For the dough
• 400 g all-purpose or bread flour
• 250 ml lukewarm water
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
For the topping
• 350 g minced lamb, or a half lamb and half beef mixture with about 20% fat
• 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 long green Turkish pepper, finely chopped
• ½ red pepper, finely chopped
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp red pepper paste (biber salçası)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp isot pepper or Aleppo pepper
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
To serve
• Lemon wedges
• Flat-leaf parsley
• Thinly sliced red onion tossed with sumac
• Ayran
METHOD
1. Mix the flour and salt. Add the water and olive oil, then knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and supple. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. This dough is intentionally unleavened.
2. Heat the oven as high as it will go, ideally 250–275°C / 480–525°F, with a pizza stone, baking steel, or inverted heavy tray inside for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pulse the onion, garlic, tomato, peppers, and parsley very briefly in a food processor, or chop by hand until extremely fine. Drain off excess liquid. Mix thoroughly with the meat, pepper paste, tomato paste, spices, salt, and black pepper. The topping should be moist and spreadable, never watery.
4. Divide the dough into 8 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll one ball into a very thin 25–28 cm round or oval. Spread a thin layer of topping all the way to the edge, pressing it gently into the dough.
5. Transfer to the hot stone or tray and bake for 5–7 minutes, until the edge blisters and browns and the meat is fully cooked. Keep finished lahmacun stacked under a clean cloth so they stay flexible while the remaining pieces bake.
6. Serve immediately with lemon, parsley, and sumac onions. Squeeze, fold or roll, and eat while hot.
AUTHENTICITY NOTE
Lahmacun is not Turkish pizza: there is no cheese and no thick bread base. The dough should be wafer-thin, the meat mixture finely textured and spread to the rim, and the bake fiercely hot. Şanlıurfa-style lahmacun is especially associated with unfermented dough and fragrant isot pepper.
