Gozleme!

Gozleme!! Crispy, golden Turkish flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of tasty fillings. Choose from Spinach and Feta, or spiced Beef or Lamb. I want them all!

Like everybody’s favourite Easy Flatbreads recipe, the Gozleme pastry requires no yeast, just 3 ingredients (no yogurt) and is very easy to work with. You’re going to fall in love with this recipe!

Gozleme recipe

Weekend markets wouldn’t be the same without Turkish Gozleme stands. Sturdy Turkish Mamas with powerful arms rolling out the dough, and pretty young ladies front of house, smiling charmingly at customers.

Total stereotype there. But it’s a very effective marketing strategy!! 😂

If you’re new to Gozleme, all you need to know is this: they are olive oil flavoured flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of fillings. The most popular ones are Spinach and Feta, spiced ground lamb / beef (mince), and potato (carb on carb 👌🏻).

Pan fried until golden and crispy, then cut into grabbable-size pieces with lemon wedges on the side, there’s a reason why Gozleme stands often have the longest lines at weekend markets – because everybody loves them!!!

The Gozleme dough

Gozleme pastry is possible the easiest flatbread in the world because:

• it’s traditionally made without yeast;

• only requires 4 ingredients: flour, olive oil, salt and water

• “dump and mix” job using a stand mixer or food processor

• the dough is very easy to work with – easy to roll out (unlike rock hard fridge-cold Quiche pastry!), to pull and stretch into the shape that you want, and patch up accidental tears. 🙂

“If you’re new to making your own flatbreads, this is a great one to start with! The gozleme dough is very forgiving and easy to handle when rolling out.”

I typically make 4 Gozlemes from each batch of dough, though it can easily stretch to 5.

Gozleme Fillings

I’m sharing two fillings today:

• Spinach and Feta, and

• Lamb or Beef spiced ground meat filling. Though chicken, pork and turkey could be used too.

Just a note: I stuff my Gozleme way more generously than the Turkish Mamas at the Gozleme stands. I figure if we’re going to the effort of making our own, we shouldn’t skimp on fillings!!

Spinach and Feta Filling for Gozleme

The Spinach and Feta filling has nothing ground breaking in it. Egg for binding, garlic for flavour and pepper. (Ignore the salt in the photo, it’s not required!!)

The one little trick I’ve adopted over the years is to scrunch the spinach to wilt it down slightly. It makes it much easier to stuff the flatbread when the spinach is compacted down. Trying to enclose a huge pile of green fluffage with thin pastry is not fun.

Lamb or Beef Gozleme Filling

I told you I like to be generous with my fillings….. so while the traditional minced meat Gozleme usually has just a very thin scattering of meat with little more than a bit of onion, I like to fill mine out with all sorts of extras.

Increase the volume, more texture, add colour and more flavour!

Wrapping & cooking

Don’t be intimidated by this part! It’s really not difficult – and as I said, we’re working with a friendly dough here. The step photos below are fairly self explanatory, but here are a few tips:

• Don’t make them too big – just because the Turkish Mamas at the gozleme stand make theirs the size of extra large pizzas, doesn’t mean you should! Large gozleme = difficult to transfer to skillet and flip. Remember, they’ve been doing it for 40 years….

• Press out air pockets = no trapped heat ballooning = flatter = crispier

• Transfer to skillet – slide onto a pizza paddle or similar, then slide into the skillet. Once cooked, it’s crisp enough to scoop up with a spatula – you’ll see in the recipe video!

• Make sure they fit comfortably in the skillet! I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve had half a gozleme hanging out of the pan…. 😂

• Don’t skimp on oil – if you want the crispiest, most golden pastry, now is not the time to be counting calories! (Besides, remember that olive oil is better for you!)

Though traditionally served with lemon wedges, hand on heart, I have never used them. (And I’ve had my fair share of Gozleme in my life time!). They are great as they are, hot off the stove.

In my world, these are a summertime BBQ favourite. Terrific to cook these on the flat side of the BBQ – plus there’s more space than a skillet so you can cook multiple gozlemes at the same time.

And the extra bonus (because we all secretly love this part😈) – everyone is always so impressed. It’s just not something that most people think about making at home.

I’ve used the word “crisp” alot in this post. So I’m going to leave you with this image. Crispy crispy juicy stuffed Lamb Stuffed Gozleme.

Or – wait. Was it beef?? There’s been a lot of gozleme around here in recent weeks. So I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter. BOTH are equally delicious!!~ Nagi x

More things stuffed between crispy bread

Things stuffed inside crispy flatbreads are always a good thing! I’ve done a few over the years:

• Quesadillas – also, handy Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas!

• Aloo Paratha

• Crispy Ham and Cheese Pockets

• And though not stuffed, this ever popular Easy Soft Flatbreads has to make the list (use as naan for curries, Greek Gyros, Doner Kebab, Chicken Shawarma – the options are extensive!)

Gozleme recipe
Watch how to make it

Note: I forgot to press record when putting water into the dough, oops! Follow written recipe below.

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Gozleme!!

Author: Nagi

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Resting: 20 mins

Total: 50 mins

Mains, Starter

Turkish

4.98 from 88 votes

Servings4

Tap or hover to scale

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Recipe video above. Crispy Turkish flatbreads stuffed with juicy fillings! Choose ONE Filling - either Spinach and Feta, or spiced Lamb OR Beef with spinach and peppers. Can stretch to 5 gozlemes. Works with GLUTEN FREE flour too!

Ingredients

Gozleme pastry:

• ▢ 2.5 cups (375g) flour , plain/all purpose (GF Note 4)
• ▢ 1/3 cup (85ml) extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 3/4 cup (185ml) water
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt

Choose ONE Filling (Note 1)

Spinach & Feta:

• ▢ 300g / 10oz baby spinach
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 300g / 10 oz Danish feta (soft feta, Note 2)
• ▢ 2 cups (200g) shredded mozzarella cheese (Note 3)

Spiced Lamb or Beef:

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 1 onion , finely chopped
• ▢ 500g / 1 lb beef or lamb mince (ground)
• ▢ 1 capsicum / bell pepper , chopped
• ▢ 90g / 3 oz baby spinach
• ▢ 1.5 tsp cumin powder
• ▢ 1 tsp paprika
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cayenne (adjust spiciness to taste)
• ▢ 3/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 tbsp water
• ▢ 120g / 4 oz Danish feta (Note 2)

Cooking / Serving:

• ▢ 1 - 1.5 tbsp olive oil , per gozleme
• ▢ Lemon wedges (optional)

Instructions

Pastry:

• Fit stand mixer with dough hook. Combine flour, oil, salt and water in the stand mixer bowl. Mix for 2.5 minutes on medium high speed 7 until smooth (see video for before & after). (Note 4) Dough should be a pliable, smooth ball, not sticky.
• Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough into 4 pieces.
• Roll out into 35cm/14" x 20cm/8" rectangle.

Filling:

• Make EITHER the lamb / beef Filling, or Spinach & Feta (or make 1/2 batch of both!).

Lamb or Beef Filling:

• Heat oil in large skillet over high heat.
• Cook garlic and onion for 1 minute. Add capsicum, cook for 2 minutes.
• Add beef and cook until it changes from pink to brown, breaking it up as you go.
• Add cumin, paprika, cayenne (if using), salt, pepper and water. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add spinach, stir until wilted.
• Cool before using.

Spinach Feta Filling:

• Place spinach, garlic, egg and pepper in a bowl. Scrunch with hands to reduce volume and make spinach "floppy".
• Add feta and stir through.

Making Gozleme:

• Spread Filling on half the pastry, pushing to the edge. Sprinkle Lamb/Beef Filling with crumbled feta. Sprinkle Spinach Feta with mozzarella cheese, if using.
• Fold other side of pastry over to cover Filling. Press down edges, pressing out excess air pockets trapped inside as you go. Use water if needed to seal well.
• Sprinkle flour on a round pizza paddle (or similar). Slide gozleme onto paddle.

Cooking:

• Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. (I usually get 2 pans going)
• Slide gozleme into skillet. Cook, lightly pressing down (including edges), until deep golden and crispy - about 3 minutes. Flip and cook, pressing down lightly, until crispy.

Serving:

• Transfer to cutting board. Cut into 6 or 8 pieces.
• Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. Filling - choose either Spinach Feta OR Spiced Lamb/Beef. Filling is enough to fill 4 gozlemes. OR make a half batch of each which is what I usually do - use recipe scaler to scale ingredients down (click on Servings and slide down until beef reaches 250g/0.5lb and everything will change).

2. Danish Feta - a soft feta that is like a cross between greek feta and goats cheese. Ideal for Gozleme but normal feta totally fine.

3. Mozzarella cheese - not usually in Gozleme so it's optional. But I can't resist!

4. Dough - Soft, pliable but not sticky - very easy to handle. Adjust with sprinkle of extra flour or water if needed to achieve consistency shown in video. Hand kneading - about 6 to 7 minutes. 

Gluten free flour - works great! Dough is not as stretchy, it's more like short pastry (like Quiche, see video). Also recommend making 5 smaller ones rather than 6. Pastry does not brown as well, but flavour and texture is the same!

5. Storage / reheating:

• Cooked gozleme should be eaten asap while hot and crispy!
• Dough can be kept for 3 to 4 days in fridge
• Do not keep filled uncooked gozleme in fridge - inside sweats and makes underside of dough soggy
• Best way to keep warm while you keep cooking is in 120C/250F oven ON A RACK not on a baking tray (hot gozleme sweats and underside gets soggy)
• Cooked gozleme can be frozen or kept in fridge - cool, wrap, put in container
• Reheat either by pan frying or on tray in oven at 180C/350F for 7 minutes or so

6. Pastry and fillings adapted from this recipe from Gourmet Wog. It's the one I've been using exclusively since I found it.

7. Calories per gozleme - Spinach and Feta. There's a fair amount of olive oil in Gozleme, but remember olive oil is better for you than other oils! Don't be tempted to cut down on the fat in the pastry. But you can cook with less - spray a non stick pan.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 845cal (42%)Carbohydrates: 67g (22%)Protein: 36g (72%)Fat: 47g (72%)Saturated Fat: 21g (131%)Cholesterol: 192mg (64%)Sodium: 1573mg (68%)Potassium: 621mg (18%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 4g (4%)Vitamin A: 7845IU (157%)Vitamin C: 21.5mg (26%)Calcium: 754mg (75%)Iron: 6.9mg (38%)

Keywords: Gozleme, Spinach and Feta Gozleme

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Life of Dozer

Dog treat. Everybody say together – “That’s sooooooo Asian!”