Lahmacun
Pizza's beautiful cousin
I’ve never tasted anything quite like Lahmacun. It’s often called “Turkish pizza,” but this is its own world. It’s much lighter in texture and a completely different flavor profile. Like pizza’s beautiful cousin, if you will.
It’s thin, crisp, and topped with a spiced meat mixture that I am now obsessed with.
This beloved food can be found across Turkey, Armenia, Syria, and Lebanon. Its roots trace back centuries, and variations with different toppings can be found all over the region.
This dough was surprisingly easy to make and quite forgiving. It took a few minutes of constant kneading to get a cohesive and smooth ball but in the end it turned out great!
This is a fun recipe to make with family or friends and can be done without difficulty.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 35–45 minutes active + 1 hour dough rise
Cook Time: 8–10 minutes per lahmacun
*If you have a high-heat pizza oven, these will be ready in 3-4 minutes!
Ingredients
For the Dough
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 packet (or 2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast or active dry yeast
Note: *I like to activate both types of yeast in water. I used active dry yeast!
1 cup warm water (around 100°F or 38°C)
1 tsp olive oil
For the Meat Topping
1/2 lb ground lamb (or beef, or a mix)
1 small yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 medium tomato
1 red bell pepper
1 green pepper
Handful of flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp red pepper paste (biber salçası)
*Sometimes this is not widely available in grocery stores, check your smaller local markets or omit if needed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
To Serve
Lemon wedges
Red onion
Tomatoes
More fresh parsley
Sumac
*Or any other toppings you enjoy!
Recipe
Step 1: The Dough
The dough needs an hour of rest time, so I like to start here.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of warm water (about 100°F or 38°C) with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1 packet of yeast. Let it sit for 5–10 minutes until it becomes foamy on the surface.
In a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into the flour and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
Stir with a spoon or your hands until a shaggy dough begins to form.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It took me a good amount of kneading to get to that point. If you are discouraged at first… keep kneading!!
Note: If needed, wet your hand to hydrate the dough
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
