Ramazan pidesi
The bread for which queues form outside Istanbul bakeries before sunset during Ramadan — traditionally baked in that month, eaten warm at iftar. It is recognised by a lattice pressed in with fingers dipped in glaze and by a soft, airy crumb. The secret lies in two things: a very wet dough, which gives large holes, and a glaze of yogurt and egg, applied before the pattern is pressed so the fingers do not stick.
Your own work in that: 25 min.
- Dough 15 min
- Rising 120 min
- Glaze and lattice 25 min
- Baking 15 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMix a very wet dough
Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the water, add the flour, salt and oil and mix by hand for 5 minutes. The dough runs at 76% hydration — slack and sticky. Do not add flour: the water turns to steam and makes the large, airy pockets in the bread.
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour · 380 ml water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Slack and sticky — the water makes the holes.Fold the dough every 20 minutes
Cover the bowl and leave somewhere warm. Over the first hour fold the dough with oiled hands every 20 minutes, lifting an edge and tucking it to the centre, then leave it alone for another hour — 2 hours in all, until doubled. A wet dough cannot be kneaded — folding builds gluten without extra flour.
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour · 380 ml water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Divide and shape loose balls
After two hours, when doubled, turn the dough onto an oiled worktop, divide in two and shape loose balls. Rest under a cloth 15 minutes so the gluten relaxes. Meanwhile heat the oven to 240°C.
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour · 380 ml water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Stretch into ovals on the tray
Move the balls onto a lined tray and stretch them by hand into ovals 2 cm thick. Do not roll — a pin presses out the air and the bread comes out flat and dense.
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour · 380 ml water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Brush with the glaze
Mix the yogurt, yolk, oil, flour and water and brush the dough thickly. The flour in the glaze is the trick: it thickens it so it does not run, and in the oven it gives a glossy, golden crust.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp yogurt · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp plain flour · 1 tbsp water
A thick glaze with flour — it stays put and shines.Press the lattice with your fingers
Dip your fingertips in the glaze and press deep lines lengthways, then diagonally, forming a lattice and leaving a 2 cm border. Press right down to the tray — shallow marks vanish in the oven.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp yogurt · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp plain flour · 1 tbsp water
Fingers in glaze, down to the tray — shallow lines vanish.Scatter with nigella and sesame
Scatter generously with nigella and sesame and put straight into the oven. Do not leave it to rise further — the pattern spreads and the dough domes up, losing its flat shape.
Ingredients: 1 tbsp nigella seeds · 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Bake briefly at high heat
Bake 12–15 minutes at 240°C, until deep gold. Wrap at once in a cloth — the steam softens the crust. Ramazan pidesi should be soft and pliable, not crisp like a baguette.
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour · 380 ml water · 7 g dried yeast · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1½ tsp salt
Before you start
Torn, not cut
Ramazan pidesi is usually torn by hand at the table rather than cut with a knife. Served warm with cheese, olives and dates to break the fast, it is also the base for kebab and for soups.
The wet dough is the whole secret
Most home failures with this bread are too much flour — the dough seems unmanageable and the hand reaches for the bag by itself. Work with oiled hands and give the dough time — the folding does the work.
Best the same day
The bread is best warm, within hours of baking. The next day sprinkle it with water and give it 4 minutes in a 200°C oven. It freezes well whole.
