Turkish Recipes - Meat Pizza Lahmacum

Ingredients :

• 1/2 envelope (1 tsp.) active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 5 c. flour
• 4 tbsp. butter at room temperature
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. salt
• Topping:
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 oz. ground lamb
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 egg yolk, separated (the white can be thrown away)
• 1 tbsp. butter, melted

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and
sugar with milk. Allow to sit for 10
minutes.
2. Pour flour into a large bowl and
create a well in center. Pour yeast
mixture into well, and add butter
and eggs. Stir to combine, and then
turn dough out onto a clean floured
surface. Use your hands to knead
mixture for about 10 minutes, or
until a soft dough mixture. Put in a
lightly oiled bowl and cover with a
damp towel. Set aside and let rise in
a warm place for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Divide
dough into golf ball-sized pieces.
On a floured cookie sheet, use your
hands to flatten each piece into a
circle about ø-inch thick.
4. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil
over medium heat. Add onion and
sauté for 5 minutes. Add meat and
cook for 5 minutes more, stirring
often. Mix in parsley.
5. Spread a layer of topping about
Π -inch thick in the middle of each
piece of dough. Along the outside
edge of each pizza, fold ø inch of
dough toward center to create a
border of crust.
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6. Leave pizzas in a warm place to rise
for another 30 minutes. Use a
pastry brush to coat outer crusts
with egg yolk (discard egg white).
Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until
golden brown.
7. When cooked, brush lightly with
melted butter and stack in a covered
saucepan for 5 minutes before
serving. (This step is to soften the
pastry. If you want a crisp crust,
serve straight from the oven.)

Note:
Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 6

To separate an egg, carefully crack it over a small
bowl without breaking the yolk. Pour the yolk from
one eggshell half to the other, dropping a little bit of
the white into the bowl each time.When only the
yolk remains, pour it into a separate dish.
If you are short on time, try using frozen bread
dough instead of making your own.