Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cheese Pide/Fatayer

Soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, and packed with gooey mozzarella, these cheese pide will become your go-to dish! They’re incredibly simple to prepare and come together quickly!

cheese pide

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What is Cheese Pide?

Cheese pide is a type of Turkish flatbread that is typically topped with a mixture of cheese, such as feta or mozzarella, along with other ingredients like herbs, vegetables, and spices. It is similar to a pizza, but with a different shape and flavor profile. Pide is often served as a main dish or snack in Turkish cuisine.

The bread is made with a simple yeast dough that can be made by hand or using an electric stand mixer. It requires only one hour of resting and once made the cheese pide can be baked immediately.

For the filling, you could add whatever you’d like! I made a few with just mozzarella and a few with mozzarella and sausages. When it comes to the type of cheese, you could use any type you’d like, however it’s traditionally made with mozzarella or feta cheese.

These cheese pide are perfect for breakfast or as a snack, or even as a side dish for lunch/dinner parties.

What You Need To Make This Recipe

Milk: I always prefer to use whole milk for most of my recipes, but for this one, you can use skimmed milk if you prefer. (I have tried this with any other types of milk!)

Vegetable oil: use a flavorless like canola or sunflower oil.

Yogurt: this can be substituted with sour cream.

Yeast: use instant yeast, not active dry yeast.

Flour: all you need is regular all-purpose flour, I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.

Cheese: you can use mozzarella or feta cheese.

How To Make Cheese Pide

Step 1: Combine all the wet ingredients in a large bowl, and mix.

Step 2: Add in the flour and mix until the dough comes together. Switch to your hands and knead the the dough for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Drizzle with some oil, cover and let it rest for at least one hour.

Step 3: Once the dough has risen, divide it into 50g balls. You should get about 15 or more balls.

Step 4: Flour your work surface and roll out each dough ball into an oval that’s about 5-6 inches long. it should be thin but not too thin that it will rip.

Step 5: Add grated mozzarella in the middle of the oval, see pic. Don’t use too much cheese or it will overflow whilst baking.

Step 6: Pinch the top and bottom together and fold over the sides onto the cheese center, see pic. This may seem hard, but it’s actually quite easy, also they do not all have to be perfect, Repeat this process with all of your dough balls, You can even have fun with the fillings and add toppings onto the cheese! Some topping options would be: chicken (pre-cooked), sausages, veggies, shawarma filling, etc.

Step 7: Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C / 350 Â°F for 15 minutes, until the sides are golden brown and the cheese has a bit of browning as well.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Storing The Cheese Pide

Before I tell you the storing instructions, I want to emphasize that these cheese pide taste the BEST when served fresh and hot! Any leftovers can be stored in a container, preferably air-tight, at room temp for 2 days. Re-heat them in the microwave to melt the cheese and soften up the bread.

Pro Tips

  • Do not use hot milk for the dough! This could kill the yeast and the dough will fail to rise. The milk should be between 80°F and 100°F (27°C to 37°C)
  • If you want a more crispy cheese pide, bake them for 2-3 minutes extra.
  • Brush the sides with butter immediately after they come out of the oven for a shiny look.
  • If you want you can make them bigger! That’s right, you can make them whatever size you’d like, just make sure to roll out the dough a bit thin.
  • Have fun with the toppings! Some topping options would be: chicken (pre-cooked), sausages, veggies, shawarma filling, etc.

FAQ’s

Can I make the pide dough ahead of time?

Yes you can make the dough the night before, then refrigerate it. The next day, let the dough come to room temp. (10-15 min) before using it to make you pide.

Is cheese pide and cheese fatayer the same thing?

Not really, although they’re quite similar (or some may say very similar), Pide is a Turkish flatbread that is typically topped with various ingredients such as cheese, meat, and vegetables, while fatayer is a type of Middle Eastern pastry that is usually filled with ingredients such as meat, cheese, or spinach. Both are delicious and popular dishes in their respective cuisines. No matter what you want to call them, they are just cheesy bites of deliciousness!

Can I use olive oil instead of sunflower oil?

I would not recommend it, it’s best to use a neutral, flavorless oil like canola oil or sunflower oil. But if you really want to, you could try it out and let me know how it turns out!

Cheese Pide

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Recipe Card

Melt-in-your-mouth Cheese Pide

Soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, and packed with gooey mozzarella, these cheese pide will become your go-to dish! They’re incredibly simple to prepare and come together quickly!

Prep Time: 1 hrs. 30 min (includes rest time)

Cook Time: 15 min

Total Time: 1 hrs. 45 min

Course: Main/Snack

Servings: 15

Calories: 216kcal

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk, lukewarm (240ml)
  • 1/2 cup water, room temp. (120ml)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (120ml)
  • 2 tbsp. yogurt (30g)
  • 1 tbsp. instant yeast (10g)
  • 2 tsp granulated sugar (8g)
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt (7g)
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour (600g)
  • mozzarella cheese, grated (as needed)

Equipment/Utensils

  • One large bowl
  • Wooden spoon
  • Spatula
  • Rolling pin
  • Baking trays (lined)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl combine, lukewarm milk, water, vegetable oil, yogurt, yeast, granulated sugar, and salt. Give this a mix until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
  2. Add in all-purpose flour and Mix using a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Use a spatula to clean the side of the bowl, then switch to your hands and knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, drizzle the top with some more vegetable oil, then cover and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
  3. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and bring the dough back into a smooth ball. Now divide the dough into 50g balls.
  4. Flour your work surface and starting with one dough ball, roll it into an oval that’s about 6 inches in length. See the video for details.
  5. Add grated mozzarella in the middle of the oval, see pic.
  6. Start with the top and pinch the two top pieces together, move downwards while folding the edges of the dough onto the cheese center. Then pinch the two bottom pieces to make a boat shape. See the video for details.
  7. Carefully transfer the cheese pide onto a lined baking tray. I used a large and flat wooden spoon, you could also use a pizza peel or just your hands. Repeat this process until you’ve used all of the dough balls. Once you’ve made 2 or 3, preheat the oven to 180 °C / 350 Â°F.
  8. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the sides are golden brown and the cheese is slightly toasted as well. Serve hot & enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 215.71kcal

Total Fat: 8.75g

Carbs: 29.01g

Sugars: 1.55g

Protein: 4.76g

Sodium: 201.45mg

Fiber: 0.97g

** Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more. **

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