These Vegan Pide are a delicious Turkish Flat Bread recipe with traditional toppings that have been veganized, for a wonderful vegan pizza recipe option!
It’s that time again – international Pizza day. Not that I need an excuse to eat pizza. Especially when they are this vegan pide recipe ( Turkish flatbread); delicious Turkish pizza alternatives.
Now I’m not going to lie; I have had a LOT of pide at restaurants in my day, but never a Vegan version before. While the dough itself is naturally vegan, the toppings are usually very cheese or very meaty.
I’ve given the recipe a little MSL haul though and now have a delicious vegan pizza recipe with two traditional Turkish flat bread toppings, veganized.
Although I should probably note upfront – I actually made the dough a little thicker than usual this time ( accidentally). While it doesn’t affect the flavour, it does slightly affect the aesthetics.
If you like a thinner pizza, just roll your dough out thinner and be aware that it will puff up a bit in the oven.
What is pide, you ask?
Pide is a Turkish flatbread, topped with a variety of toppings, usually boat-shaped and cooked in a stone oven.
It’s basically the very delicious Turkish version of pizza! ( and as pizza alternatives go, Turkish pide has to be my absolute favourite)
Perhaps ( okay, definitely) I’m slightly biased with my love for Pide since I’m half Turkish but – try it, and you’ll see for yourself.
Now, I don’t have a stone oven – I don’t even have baking stone/steel – so I’ve kept mine nice and straightforward with no special equipment needed.
How do You Make Pide?
Making pide is quite simple, even if you don’t have a lot of experience with making dough ( which I honestly don’t).
There are only a few steps:
- Preparing the yeast
- Mixing the yeast mixture into flour and salt
- kneading the dough ( which can be done by hand or with a food processor)
- leaving it to rise
- cutting into portions and rolling out into ovals
- Topping with a variety of delicious topping
- Shaping into the traditional boat shape and baking in the oven. Voila!
Okay, there’s a little more to it than that but, you get the gist. If I can do it, then so can you. Plus, homemade pizza is always going to be WAY better than store-bought because you’re 100% in control of the toppings ( extra cheese, anyone?!).
Pide Topping Options:
As this is a vegan pide recipe, I decided to go for quite traditional toppings, but veganized.
Pide toppings aren’t the same as pizza in the fact that there isn’t usually a sauce base, followed by toppings. Pide foregoes the sauce altogether and skips straight to toppings.
The Toppings In This Post:
The first is a simple spinach and cheese mixture, which is my go-to when at restaurants. However, I’ve added in some delicious leek ( it really elevates the flavour) and used my favourite plant-based Greek Feta.
The second is my take on a vegan lahmacun ( another Turkish flatbread) topping. Rather than the usual mince, tomato & pepper topping, I’ve swapped out the meat for roasted aubergine, and it is DELICIOUS.
In fact, there are even two ways to make this topping. The first is more like a marinara sauce, thick and tomatoey. The second is more similar to lahmacun in that it’s more dry, with less focus on the tomato flavour and more balance overall.
These are just suggestions though, and really, you can top your pide with anything you’d top a pizza with.
How to Make These Vegan Pide: Two Ways
The first step to making homemade vegan pide is to prepare the dough. Begin with activating your dry yeast by adding the 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, sugar and oil to a small bowl.
The sugar is needed to feed the yeast and the warm water will also help with the activating process. Also, make sure not to add the salt to the bowl as it will inhibit yeast growth. Below is a picture where you can see a correct vs. failed results.
The yeast should have a thick layer of bubbly frothy-ness on top if done correctly.
Meanwhile, add the flour and salt to a large bowl. Alternatively, into a food processor with a dough blade.
If using a food processor then add the yeast mixture in with the flour and process for around 45 seconds on low/dough setting. Pour in the additional water 1tbsp at a time, until a dough is formed. I usually need 2-3 tbsp.
If doing manually then form a well in the bowl and pour the yeast mixture in, add 2tbsp of water and slowly bring the dough together with your hands/ a spoon.
Once the dough has formed then it needs to be kneaded. You can do this by hand, for 7-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor for around 2-3 minutes.
I did this in intervals of 30 seconds, so the dough wouldn’t get too hot – then tested it in my hands, allowing it to cool slightly before doing the next 30 seconds. The dough is ready when it’s stretchy, without breaking and easily forms a smooth ball.
Cover the dough with a thin layer of oil and place in a large bowl then cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove (rise) in a warm area, for around an hour.
As the dough proves, it’s time to prepare the fillings.
The Aubergine Filling:
Begin by preparing the vegetables. Do this by halving the aubergine, scoring it, lightly brushing with oil and a sprinkle of salt. Then, halve and de-seed the red pepper.
Place the vegetables flesh-side down on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 180C, till the skin is wrinkling and browned ( the red pepper will have black spots).
Scoop the aubergine flesh onto a plate and roughly chop along with the red pepper, finely chopped.
Transfer this into a large frying pan with a tbsp of oil ( I used garlic-infused olive oil).
Lightly fry for a couple of minutes and season with the salt, paprika, and cayenne ( optional- if you want some spice) – to taste.
Meanwhile, prepare your can of tomatoes by mashing the tomatoes lightly/ chopping into smaller bits.
Depending on how tomatoey you like your sauce to be, add 1/2 the mixture – the whole mixture to the pan. I added it all, so there’d be no waste.
Add the pepper paste to the pan, stirring in to thoroughly combine and then reduce heat and simmer till the mixture has reduced and thickened.
Note* For the second method, read the full recipe below.
The Spinach Filling:
Begin by finely slicing the leek and adding to a frying pan over low-med heat with some oil or butter. Lightly fry this for a few minutes, to soften.
Add the spinach and cover with a cloth or a lid to lightly steam it for 2-3 minutes, till the spinach is completely wilted.
Scoop the mixture into a sieve and press with the back of a spoon or your hand, to remove any excess liquid.
When cooled, add the plant-based cheese of your choice. I used Greek Feta
To Prepare the Pide:
Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. You can use scales if you want perfectly even pieces, but I just eyeball it.
Shape both bits of dough into balls and roll out into thin oval shapes. I actually made mine a little thick here. While the vegan pide still tasted absolutely amazing, because of the thicker dough, it didn’t hold the class boat shape as well as it should, with the lip coming up and away from the sides.
If you prefer a thicker crust then feel free to do the same, however, traditionally it’s usually a bit thinner.
Place your filling in the centre, leaving 1-2cm at the edges. For the spinach filling, I spread a layer of plant-based cream cheese first ( this is optional but highly recommended).
beginning with one side of the pide, fold the dough over from one end to the other, to create a lip over the pizza toppings.
Repeat with the other side, pinching the dough together at the ends, to keep it in its boat shape.
Brush the pide dough lightly with oil or butter and an optional sprinkle of sesame seeds then place on baking paper-lined trays and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C.
Once baked, you can sprinkle with more plant-based cheese, pomegranate seeds, chilli flakes and/or parsley or basil.
The Vegan Pide ( Turkish flat bread) Recipe:
Vegan Pide (Turkish Flat Bread): 2 Ways
Ingredients
The Pide Dough:
- 1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tbsp Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Warm Water
- 1 tbsp Oil I used Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Sugar needed to activate the yeast
The Spinach Filling:
- 1 Small Leek finely slices
- 200 g Baby Spinach
- Plant-based cream cheese optional
- Plant-based Greek Feta I use Violife
- Za'atar optional
- Olives optional
Spiced Aubergine Filling:
- Note* There are two methods for this fillings. The first is like a thick marinara sauce and the second is more like a lahmacun style paste.
Method 1 ( thick saucy filling):
- 1 Aubergine
- 1 Red Pepper
- 1/2-1 Can Whole Tomatoes I used whole can of plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Red Pepper Paste
- Smoked Paprika Cayenne Pepper & Salt - to taste
- Small Handful Parsley
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- Pomegranate optional
- Plant-based meltable cheese optional
Method 2 ( drier 'lahmacun' style filling):
- 1 Aubergine
- 1-2 Red Pepper
- 2 Large Tomatoes finely diced
- 3 tbsp Red Pepper paste
- 3-4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Paprika cayenne & Salt - to taste
Instructions
To Prepare The Dough:
- Combine the 1/2 cup warm water*, yeast, sugar and oil in a small bowl and allow the yeast to activate for around 10 minutes.**
- Meanwhile add the flour and salt to a large bowl. Alternatively, into a food processor with a dough blade.
- If using a food processor then add the yeast mixture in with the flour and process for around 45 seconds on low/dough setting. Pour in the additional water 1tbsp at a time, until a dough is formed. I usually need 2-3 tbsp. If doing manually then form a well in the bowl and pour the yeast mixture in, add 2tbsp of water and slowly bring the dough together with your hands/ a spoon.
- Once the dough has formed then it needs to be kneaded. You can do this by hand, for 7-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor for around 2-3 minutes. I did this in intervals of 30 seconds, so the dough wouldn't get too hot - then tested it in my hands, allowing it to cool slightly before doing the next 30 seconds.
- The dough is ready when it's stretchy, without breaking and easily forms a smooth ball.
- Cover the dough with a thin layer of oil and place in a large bowl then cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm area, for around an hour. ***
- Meanwhile, as the dough rises - it's time to prepare the fillings.
The Aubergine Filling:
- Begin by preparing the vegetables. Do this by halving the aubergine, scoring it, lightly brushing with oil and a sprinkle of salt. Then, halve and de-seed the red pepper.
- Place these flesh-side down on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 180C, till the skin is wrinkling and browned ( the red pepper will have black spots).
- Scoop the aubergine flesh onto a plate and roughly chop along with the red pepper, finely chopped.
- Transfer this into a large frying with with a tbsp of oil ( I used garlic-infused olive oil).
- Lightly fry for a couple of minutes and season with the salt, paprika, and cayenne ( optional- if you want some spice) - to taste.
Method 1:
- Meanwhile prepare your can of tomatoes by mashing the tomatoes lightly/ chopping into smaller bits.
- Depending on how tomatoey you like your sauce to be add 1/2 the mixture - the whole mixture to the pan. I added it all, so there'd be no waste.
- Add the pepper paste to the pan, stirring in to thoroughly combine and then reduce heat and simmer till the mixture has reduced and thickened.
Method 2:
- Before transferring your aubergine/pepper to the frying add, dinely dice the tomatoes and add to a saucepan with 1-2 tbsp oil.
- Lightly fry over medium heat to soften the tomatoes. This can take up to ten minutes.
- Add the aubergine/pepper, remaining 1 tbsp oil, pepper paste and stir to combine thoroughly.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of water, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of extra water, if the mix gets too dry.
- season with the salt and spices then remove from the heat.
The Spinach Filling:
- Begin by finely slicing the leek and adding to a frying pan over low-med heat with some oil or butter. Lightly fry this for a few minutes, to soften.
- Add the Spinach and cover with a cloth or a lid to lightly steam it for 2-3 minutes, till the spinach is completely wilted. ****
- Scoop the mixture into a sieve and press with the back of a spoon or your hand, to remove any excess liquid.
- When cooled, add the plant-based cheese of your choice. I used Greek Feta
To Prepare the Pide:
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. You can use scales if you want perfectly even pieces, but I just eyeball it.
- Shape both bits of dough into balls and roll out into thin oval shapes.*****
- Place your filling in the centre, leaving 1-2cm at the edges. For the spinach filling, I spread a layer of plant-based cream cheese first ( this is optional but highly recommended).
- beggining with one side of the pide, fold the dough over from one end to the other, to create a lip over the pizza toppings.
- Repeat with the other side, pinching the dough together at the ends, to keep it in it's boat shape ( see pictures for more guidance).
- Brush the pide dough lightly with oir or butter and optional sprinkle of sesame seeds then place on baking paper lined trays and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C.
Notes
Other Recipes You Might Like:
If you’re looking for another funky pizza alternative, then you might like these Puff Pastry Pizzas. Alternatively, you might like these Stuffed Butternut Squash with Pesto or for something a little sweet then how about this Blood Orange Breakfast Toast.
As always, I’d LOVE to see your results, so if you try the recipe out then let me know. Feel free to tag me in any pics @MemoirsSoLuciie and #MSLuciierecipes.
Till next time,
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