Turkish Ramadan Pide (Ramazan Pidesi)
Ramazan Pidesi is a 5-ingredient, no knead round Turkish flatbread made ONLY during the month of Ramadan. It’s characteristic weave-like pattern is sprinkled with sesame and nigella seeds. A quick bread to make, you likely have most of the ingredients you need in your pantry cabinet right now!
Ramadan Pidesi or Ramazan Pidesi?
Both are correct but, Ramazan Pidesi is spelled with a “z” in countries where Arabic is not the main language, such as Turkey (Turkish), Pakistan (Urdu) and India (Hindi).
I first tasted this in Turkey while visiting Istanbul during the month of Ramadan a few years back. This pide is NOT to be confused with the “other Pide”, a Turkish flatbread pizza with toppings. No, no, this is Ramadan-time bread only!
Another equally delicious bread from Turkey is the sesame topped simit bread that can be found along most streets stacked tall and carried on the vendor’s heads.
Simit is another great bread to add to your recipe repertoire. This Turkish “bagel” is mild and a bit sweet — perfect for breakfast.
Table of Contents
I’m going back to the basics with this pidesi recipe. I keep things simple: a 5-ingredient dough, an egg wash, and some sesame and nigella seeds dusted on top for a bit of extra texture and flavor. And that’s it! Simple, but fluffy and flavorful.
Turkish Pide Flatbread (know as Ramadan Pidesi) is often used as a flatbread base for pizza with meat, sauces, and cheese on top. Similar to pita, you can also dip it in some Lamb or White Bean hummus, or enjoy it with rice and meat. I love it with my lentil soup.
- Dough – The ingredients needed for Turkish pide are very common:
- Warm Water – Rather than cold or room temperature water, warm water helps feed the yeast and makes mixing easier.
- Sugar, Salt, & Yeast – Sugar feeds the yeast, while the salt controls it. Both also flavor and tenderize the bread.
- All Purpose Flour – We’re making bread, but not using bread flour. All purpose flour has less protein, less gluten, and is a great go-to for almost any baking need.
- Egg Wash – Not just for that beautiful golden color! It will also help the seed topping adhere to the surface. In addition to eggs, the wash contains all purpose flour, boiling water, and Greek yogurt.
- Sesame Seeds – Sprinkled on top and toasted while the bread bakes, they add great texture and flavor.
- Nigella Seeds – These seeds have a very distinct taste: somewhat oniony and smokey. Once they toast in the oven, they’re much easier to crunch down on for a little pop of flavor.
- Prep the Dry and Wet Ingredients. Add the warm water and sugar to a large bowl or stand mixer. Stir the dry yeast into the water. While that sits, pour the flour and salt into a separate bowl and combine with a whisk.
- Combine. Sprinkle the flour into the warm water. Mix together with a spatula or your hands until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Pull and Fold. Lightly wet your hands with water. Take the far side of the dough and pull it upward and toward yourself, within the bowl, while pressing it down. Turn the bowl 90° and repeat, pulling and folding a total of 4 times.
- Divide in Half. On a floured surface, halve the dough. Roll each half into a ball, place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cover loosely. Allow to rise for 5 minutes.
- Shape and Let Rise. Uncover and roll each ball into a round shape about ½“ thick. Press and squeeze to remove air bubbles. Take a new piece of plastic wrap, coat with oil or cooking spray, and cover the dough for another 25 minutes.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE TURKISH PIDE
1. Preheat and Prep. While the dough rises, preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare the egg wash. Pour the flour into a bowl and slowly add the boiling water, whisking continuously to avoid dry clumps. Allow to cool before adding the yogurt and egg, mixing well.
2. Egg Wash and Indent. Brush the egg wash over the dough halves, covering the tops and the sides. Press with your fingertips to make indents around the edge of each half, about one inch from the edge. Dip your fingers into the remaining egg wash and continue to indent 3-4 rows within the circle that you made. Turn the dough 45° and repeat, indenting another 3-4 rows to make a diamond pattern.
3. Season and Bake. Sprinkle the sesame and nigella seeds over top, then slide the baking sheet onto the oven’s middle rack. Bake until golden on top — about 18-20 minutes. If the bread is cooking unevenly, rotate the pan halfway through so that the other side cooks as well.
4. Let Cool and Serve. Move the Ramazan Pidesi to a wire rack to prevent the bottom from burning while it cools. Serve while the bread is still warm, and enjoy!
This Turkish flatbread is very simple and yet full of flavor! It’s made with a basic yeast dough and brushed with a tangy egg wash that gives the crust a gorgeous golden hue. Then, it’s topped with crunchy nigella and sesame seeds for some extra texture.
When making Turkish bread, we’re not waiting overnight for the dough to rise. Instead, we’re giving it about an hour to rise at room temperature before baking. As long as it isn’t too warm or chilly in your kitchen, it should be just fine on the counter.
Pidesi is a round, no-knead Turkish flatbread with a characteristic weave-like pattern thats sprinkled with sesame and nigella seeds. Pide is another Turkish bread, typically an elongated, boat-shaped flatbread that’s wrapped around a vegetarian, cheese or meat filling and baked. However this is also called pide, but Ramadan Pide, and is round with a indented pattern.
The two are similar in their flavor and the way that they are used, but they differ in the baking process and look.
Pidesi is fluffier than pita, and egg washed for a crisp and golden exterior with traditional pattern. Unlike pita, it is not kneaded or flattened into disks before baking.
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Turkish Ramadan Pide (Ramazan Pidesi)
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/4 cup water warm
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tbsp instant dry yeast
- 360 g all-purpose flour (3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Egg Wash
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
Toppings
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds to top
- 1 tablespoon nigella seeds
Instructions
Dough
- Pour the water and sugar into a large bowl (or stand mix with dough hook). Sprinkle the dry yeast on top and stir to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Pour the dry ingredients over the wet. Using a spatula or your hands, mix the ingredients together. The dough should be shaggy with no dry patches of flour. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to rise.
- Dip your hands in water. Starting from the side farthest from you, pull and stretch the dough from one side up and over towards you in the bowl, pressing the dough down. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this pulling/folding three more times.
- Sprinkle a clean surface generously with flour. Transfer the dough from the bowl to the surface and cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Form each half into a loose ball. Place each ball on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for 5 minutes.
- Remove plastic wrap. Spread the dough into a 6-7 inch round or oval shape with 1/2 inch thickness. Squeeze and pop any air bubbles. Brush plastic wrap with some oil/cooking spray and cover the dough and rest for another 25 minutes. Meanwhile make the wash and preheat oven to 400°F.
Egg Wash
- Put the flour in a medium size bowl and whisk in the boiling water to avoid any lumps. Let cool and then whisk in the yogurt and egg.
Assembly
- Brush each dough round/oval with the wash. Using your finger tips, make indentations on the dough about 1 inch from the edge to make a circle. Then dip your finger tips in the wash and make 3-4 deep indentation lines (don't tear dough) inside the circle indentation. Turn the dough 45° and repeat 3-4 indentation lines inside the circle indentation. You should have diamond shapes now. It doesn't have to be perfect!
- Top with sesame seeds and or nigella seeds, and carefully lift and place the parchment paper with the dough on the baking sheet on the middle rack.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden on top. Rotate once if browning on one side more than the other. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This So Good Good.Tayyib . my daughter makes it, but without eggwash.
Thanks for coming back and letting me know Ansaruddin. 🙂
So good. thanks for the recipe. I am loving middle eastern food at the moment.
So happy you are and thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Delicious!!!
Thanks for letting me know Christina!
Okay I will, thanks.
Enjoy this one Kaditjatu.
Oh, Kevin.
I can’t wait to try this. Thank you.
xoxoxo
Thanks Jean!
Thank you looks yummy. Will try to make it
So incredibly good and beautiful. I love the flavor and texture.
Thanks Kevin
Thanks Dave, so glad you enjoyed this one!
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use coconut yogurt i never had pide turkish bread (ramadan pedesi ) before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Besides being delicious, the look of this bread always make sme want to eat it! The coconut yogurt is new to me Ramya, I must try to find it here, thanks!