Gözleme
A Turkish village flatbread in which the dough is thin enough for the filling to show green through it — and that is the test of a good gözleme. The dough has no yeast, so it neither rises nor resists the pin; it needs only three quarters of an hour of rest for the gluten to relax. It cooks on a dry griddle, and butter goes on only at the end so it does not burn against the iron.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Dough 15 min
- Resting 45 min
- Filling 15 min
- Cooking 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneKnead a soft, yeastless dough
Mix the flour with the salt, add the water, yogurt and oil and knead 10 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. The yogurt makes the dough softer and more supple, so it is easier to roll very thin.
Ingredients: 450 g plain flour · 260 ml water · 3 tbsp natural yogurt · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Rest 45 minutes
Divide into six balls, oil them, cover and leave 45 minutes. Without resting the dough springs back under the pin and cannot be stretched to the thinness this recipe is about.
Ingredients: 450 g plain flour · 260 ml water · 3 tbsp natural yogurt · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Chop the spinach raw
Chop the fresh spinach finely, raw, mix with the onion and ½ tsp salt. Leave 10 minutes, then squeeze out the water with your hands. Blanching is unnecessary — the salt draws the water out and the spinach keeps its green.
Ingredients: 400 g spinach · 250 g feta · 1 pcs onion · ½ tsp salt · ½ bunch parsley · ½ tsp chilli flakes · ½ tsp black pepper
Mix with feta and spices
Combine the squeezed spinach with the crumbled feta, parsley, chilli and pepper. Add no salt — the feta brought plenty, and filling in a bread this thin turns over-salted very quickly.
Ingredients: 400 g spinach · 250 g feta · 1 pcs onion · ½ tsp salt · ½ bunch parsley · ½ tsp chilli flakes · ½ tsp black pepper
Roll very thin
Roll each ball into an oval under 2 mm thick. The Turkish oklava pin is long and slim, but an ordinary one works. Test it: the grain of the board should show through the dough.
Ingredients: 450 g plain flour · 260 ml water · 3 tbsp natural yogurt · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Under 2 mm — the board shows through the dough.Spread the filling over half
Spread the filling thinly over half the sheet, leaving 2 cm at the edge, and fold it over, pressing the edges. A thin layer is essential — a thick filling tears the dough at the first turn.
Ingredients: 400 g spinach · 250 g feta · 1 pcs onion · ½ tsp salt · ½ bunch parsley · ½ tsp chilli flakes · ½ tsp black pepper
A thin layer, 2 cm clear, edges pressed shut.Cook on a dry griddle with no fat
Cook one at a time on a hot dry griddle or cast iron pan over medium-high heat, 2–3 minutes a side, until dark spots appear; all six take about 30 minutes in total. Roll and fill the next one while the previous one cooks. No fat: gözleme is baked rather than fried, and those spots are its flavour.
Ingredients: 450 g plain flour · 260 ml water · 3 tbsp natural yogurt · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Brush with butter at the end
At the end of cooking, still on the griddle, brush the top with melted butter, flip for a few seconds and brush the other side. Take it off and serve with a lemon wedge. Butter added at the very start would burn on the hot iron and coat the bread in a bitter residue.
Ingredients: 60 g butter · 1 pcs lemon
Butter only at the very end — otherwise it burns.
Before you start
Other fillings
The classic variants are: minced meat with onion and spices (kıymalı), mashed potato with onion and hot pepper (patatesli), or white cheese with parsley alone. One rule — the filling must be dry, since a wet one tears the thin dough.
Serve immediately
Gözleme is best straight off the griddle, while the dough is still supple and the cheese molten. It stiffens as it cools. Reheat on a dry pan for a minute a side — it turns soft inside and crisp outside again.
Freeze them raw
Shaped, uncooked gözleme freeze interleaved with paper. Cook from frozen, adding 2 minutes a side — the simplest route to a fast weekday dinner.
