How to make your own classic Turkish Ramadan pide

With the day coming to an end but before dusk marks the time to break the fast, the wafts of freshly baked goods, especially the smell of the flatbread called pide, fill the streets. With its soft texture, it can be eaten with pretty much anything, though usually as a side for a hearty soup at the iftar table.

The beautiful thing is that you can make this iconic flatbread at home! Of course, a stone oven would give it even more of the flair it needs, but this recipe is pretty close to the real deal!

Ingredients

• 200 milliliters warm milk
• 200 milliliters water
• 10 grams instant/dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, optional
• 400-500 grams flour
• 1 egg
• sesame seeds, nigella seeds

Instructions

Put about 400 grams of flour in a bowl and make an indent to put the sugar, some of the warm milk and the yeast into. Try to dissolve the yeast with your fingers and let it rest for a couple of minutes. This will activate the yeast. It will start to bubble, which is a very good sign.

Now add in the other ingredients, such as the water, salt and butter, if you like, and start kneading. The butter is strictly speaking not needed but makes the whole deal smoother. The dough we want to achieve here should be really soft but not runny.

So if you have a feeling that it is just a bit too much on the runny side, you want to gradually add the 100 grams of the remaining flour. How much you will end up using really depends on the brand and kind of flour. Just do not make a firm dough!

Let the dough rest for about an hour in a warm place and knead it one last time before transferring it onto your biggest baking tin. Wet your fingers a bit to give the bread the characteristic square patterns and if you like to add egg wash with some sesame and nigella seeds you can go for that.

Bake the pide at 180 degrees Celsius (360 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 20 minutes and up to 30 minutes until it's golden brown. Keep an eye on it, every oven is different, so check on it regularly.