March breACK! 2014: The Kids Make Pizza Boats, or, Turkish Pide, Two Ways

There was a big shipwreck in today’s reading.

So, today, we’ll be trying our hands at “Pizza Boats” or Turkish Pide.

Here’s the recipe the kids followed!

Once again, their reaction was: “Mama! We made it better than the restaurant!”

Print Recipe

Turkish Pide, Two Ways

Makes Two

Author: Roseanne Carrara, The Lunchbox Season

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 c warm milk [or lukewarm water]
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 sachet active dry yeast
• 3.25 c flour
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 4 + tbs olive oil [the +tbs if desired, can be melted butter, cooled]
• 1 yolk mixed with 1 tbs water for brushing onto the dough

Cheese and Sausage Toppings [makes 2 of the 4 pides]

• 3-4 c grated Kashkaval or Mozzarella Cheese [we used Mozzarella]
• 36-40 slices Turkish Sujuk Salami or 1 8-in cured Hungarian Csabai sausage Hot or Mild, sliced 1/8 to 1/16-in thick [we used Csabai]

Spinach, Onion & Cheese Topping [makes 2 of the 4 pides]

• 1 sweet onion sliced and browned in a dab of oil on the skillet
• 1 tbs minced garlic added to onion after browning
• 4 c fresh spinach rough chopped, added to the browned onion and garlic, heated gently on the skillet for 1-2 minutes.
• .5 c flat leaf parsley rough chopped, added to the above and heated gently for 1 more minute.
• 2-3 c crumbled Kashkaval or Feta Cheese [we used Kashkaval]

Garnish

• Several slices of lemon for squeezing onto the Pide
• Sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

• Combine the sugar and the warm milk in a small measuring cup.
• Sprinkle over the yeast, stir gently, and let sit and foam for 8-10 minutes.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt.
• Slowly stir in the milk & yeast mixture until the dough begins to string.
• Slowly stir in olive oil by the tablespoon until the dough begins to form a rough, stretchy ball.
• [Depending on the weather, temperature, behaviour of your yeast, if you need to add more than 4 tbs oil, you can also add cooled, melted butter by the tbs.]
• Dust a clean surface with a bit of flour.
• Bring the ball of dough onto that surface and knead for 3-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Place a small amount of oil into a bowl.
• Spread the oil around the bowl with a clean napkin or cloth.
• Place the dough ball into the bowl.
• Cover with plastic wrap and set aside an a warm, dark place for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Heat the oven to 425 F, placing a pizza stone on the lower-middle rack if desired.
• Pat down the dough down and turn it back out onto the floured surface.
• Divide the dough into 4 balls.
• Place the balls on a tray and cover loosely with a towel or plastic wrap.
• Let sit and rise for at least 30 minutes while you are preparing the toppings.
• In a small bowl mix your egg yolk(s) with your water.
• One at a time, on pieces of parchment, roll each ball of dough out into an oval, about 15 by 9 inches [this way, the pides will fit by 2’s on the pizza stone].
• Leaving a 1-inch border around all sides, place the filling in the oval to your liking.
• Pull that 1-inch border of dough up around the edges of each pizza boat, crimping the edges as need be.
• Brush those exposed edges of dough with your egg mixture.
• Carefully, place pides in batches [still on the parchment] on the pizza stone or onto a tray.
• After 10 minutes of baking, carefully slip the parchment from underneath the pide and discard.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until the dough looks golden and the filling cooked.
• Carefully remove the pide from the pizza stone with a a peel or a spatula and cookie sheet.
• Slice.
• Serve with slices of lemon to squeeze over top and a few handfuls flat-leaf parsley!

Notes