Gozleme has been on my bookmark list for more than 2 years. Ever since I first read this recipe, I had always wanted to make it, but it kept slipping out and I could not make it until now. It is the end of our first week of the A to Z International flatbread series and I have this delicious Turkish Gozleme for the letter ‘G’.
What kind of filling to use in Gozleme
Gozleme is a very popular street food in Turkey and can be made with a variety of fillings. The fillings can be either sweet or savory and there are several different savory versions. The filling can be anywhere from potato to herbs to just cheese or spinach and cheese. The spinach and cheese combination is very popular in Turkish cuisine and can be seen as a filling for several other recipes like this Turkish Cigar Pastry. The dough for the Turkish Flatbread is pretty easy and is made with just the basic flour and yeast. There is also a little bit of yogurt to give it that tangy flavor, but if you prefer, it can be skipped.
Rolling fun
The fun of making the Turkish Spinach Flatbread is in the rolling part. The dough has to be rolled/stretched pretty thin to have a good ratio of the dough to the filling. If the dough is rolled too thick, the Gozleme will feel like a mouthful with a very doughy feel. The rolling comes with practice and I pretty much was able to get a very thin stretched dough by my third ball of dough.
What kind of cheese to use
I used an imported good quality of sheep milk Feta and it had a very strong flavor. I am not a big feta cheese fan and when making it otherwise, would happily swap it with another stronger flavor cheese. My boys and my husband though like feta cheese and to keep their taste buds happy, I use feta quite often. I have mentioned not to use salt in the filling as my feta cheese was very salty. Taste your cheese before adding salt to the filling. I followed the folding technique mentioned in Ozlem’s Turkish Table recipe. I have tried my best to capture the rolling technique for better understanding. Preparation time - 20 minutes plus 45 to 60 minutes of resting timeCooking time - 30 minutesDifficulty level - IntermediateRecipe adapted from - Ozlem’s Turkish Table
Ingredients needed
To make the dough -
All Purpose flour - 3 cups Active Dry yeast - 2 ¼ tsp Sugar - 1 tsp Olive oil - 3 tablespoon plus more to cook the Gozleme Yogurt - 2 TBSP Salt - 1 tsp Warm water - 1 ¼ cup (might need more or less)
To make the Filling -
Spinach - 10 oz (chopped) Onion - 1 (finely chopped) Feta cheese - 8 oz Crushed red pepper - 1 ½ teaspoon (adjust based on spice level) Olive oil - 2 tsp
Procedure to make Gozleme
To make the dough
I made the dough in my stand mixer. In the bowl of the mixer, add the flour and salt and mix to combine.
In a measuring cup, heat about 1 cup of water. Add the active dry yeast and sugar to the water and mix well. Cover the cup and let the yeast proof for about 10 minutes.
The yeast would be bubbly and foamy at the end of 10 minutes. If the yeast does not appear foamy, then the yeast might be dead and you have to start with a new batch.
Add the yogurt and the yeast mixture to the bowl along with the olive oil and start mixing. Add more water if needed to make a very soft dough. The dough would be very soft but not sticky.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and make a smooth ball. Place the dough balls on a greased tray, well spaced, and cover with a plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes to an hour or until it has doubled in size.
To make the spinach and feta filling
I used frozen chopped spinach to make the filling for the Gozleme. In a microwave-safe bowl, place the spinach and thaw it in the microwave according to the instructions on the microwave.
Squeeze all the extra water out of the thawed spinach and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and once it heats up, add the chopped onion. Let the onion cook a bit.
Add the crushed red pepper to the onions and let it cook for couple of minutes more. Do not let the onions caramelize too much. Just cook until they are soft and translucent.
Add the prepared spinach to the pan and mix well to combine. Cook for couple of minutes more for flavors to combine. DO NOT ADD SALT. The Feta cheese has a lot of salt and that was just enough for the filling. Also taste the cheese and then decide if you need any extra salt.
Let the spinach onion mixture cool down to room temperature and then add the crumbled feta to the mixture. Mix well to evenly combine.
To shape and cook the Gozleme
Once the dough has risen, take one piece of dough and place it on a well-floured surface.
Start rolling the dough to form a large circle which is very very thin. Make sure that you roll the dough very thin or else the Gozleme will feel very doughy.
Fold two opposite sides of the dough towards the center.
Divide the filling into 6 equal parts. Place one part of the filling in the center of the dough. Refer to the picture below to understand the folding technique.
Now fold the other two opposite sides over the filling towards the center, overlapping and seal the edges well.
Heat a heavy skillet/pan on medium-high heat.
Brush the prepared gozleme dough with olive oil and place it on the hot pan, oiled side down.
Cook on medium heat until golden brown and then flip to the other side. Before flipping, brush this side with oil as well.
Cook on both the sides until golden brown. Make sure that the heat is on low to medium to allow the Turkish spinach Flatbread to cook all the way through. If cooked in high heat, the outside will cook quicker and the interior will still remain very doughy.
Slice into 2 or 4 pieces and serve warm.
Make sure to make very soft and pliable dough. This helps when shaping the Turkish Flatbread as it needs to be stretched really thin. If using frozen spinach for the recipe, make sure to thaw and squeeze all the extra moisture. This helps in making the filling drier and shaping the gozleme easier. Be careful when adding dough to the filling. If your cheese is salty, you might not need extra salt at all. It takes a little patience to get to roll the dough really thin. The thinner the dough is stretched, the less doughy and flavorful it will be.
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