The pide, also known as Turkish pizza, is a soft boat-shaped dough filled with a variety of fillings. I propose this delicious vegetarian version with colorful sautéed vegetables, flavored with fresh herbs, and lots of melting cheese.
The pide dough, in addition to the classic ingredients of flour, water, and salt, is prepared with the addition of plain yogurt, which gives it unique softness. I used La Forte type 1 flour from Molino Merano, which is particularly suitable for doughs with long rising times due to its high protein content. Furthermore, spelt has a hint of hazelnut and is highly digestible. As yeast, I used ADAM yeast, also from Molino Merano, which is sourdough enriched with dry beer yeast, providing all the benefits of sourdough without the long rising times. In fact, the doughs can be left to rise for about 2 hours in total.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 pide
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4 cups semi-wholemeal spelt flour La Forte (Molino Merano)
- 2 oz ADAM dried sourdough yeast, with beer yeast (Molino Merano)
- 7 oz plain yogurt
- 7.75 oz water
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 7 oz onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1.1 lbs eggplants
- 10.5 oz zucchini
- 14 oz peppers (red and yellow)
- as needed extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pinches curry
- 2 tsp salt
- as needed fresh herbs (thyme, oregano)
- 10.5 oz cheese (melting)
- as needed sesame seeds
Steps
To prepare the vegetable pide, place the semi-wholemeal spelt flour, ADAM sourdough, yogurt, and water in the stand mixer bowl. Start the mixer and add the salt and oil. Let it knead for about ten minutes until you have a smooth and homogeneous dough.
Place the dough on the work surface, make two folds, form a ball, and put it back in the bowl. Let it rise covered, in a warm place, for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling, which should cool down or at least become lukewarm before being used.
Peel the onions, chop them not too finely, and set aside. Peel the garlic and slice it. Set aside.
Wash and dry the eggplants, zucchinis, and peppers. Cut all the vegetables into cubes of about 0.6 inches.
Heat a pan with 4-5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add curry and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add the eggplants and peppers. Let everything brown over high heat for 5 minutes and then add the zucchinis. Salt. Continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened but are still firm. Finally, add the thyme and oregano leaves, stir, and remove from heat. Set aside to cool. Cut the cheese into cubes, add it to the cooled vegetables, and mix.
When the dough has doubled in volume, cut it into 4 equal pieces and form a ball with each one.
Roll out one piece of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface, giving it an elongated shape (about 12 x 6 inches). Place on a baking tray with parchment paper. Distribute a quarter of the vegetable and cheese filling over the dough, leaving about 0.8-1.2 inches along the edges. Fold the edges of the two long sides towards the center, covering part of the filling, then join and pinch the two ends to give the classic elongated pide shape with pointed ends.
Proceed in the same way for the remaining pide.
Let rise covered for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 392°F (static) if you bake one tray at a time or 356°F (fan) if you bake multiple trays at a time.
Brush the edges of the pide with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for about 20-22 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and serve the vegetable pide immediately or enjoy them warm.
