John Whaite's Turkish pizza
John Whaite is cooking a pizza with a difference. Turkish Pizza is made with a thinner base and mince meat.
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(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
For the bread
400g white bread flour7g salt7g fast-action yeast10g sugar280ml tepid water
For the topping
250g minced lamb2 cloves garlic, finely minced2 tsp sumac2 tsp paprika1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp ground coriander1 tsp sea salt flakes1 tsp cracked black pepperSmall handful each fresh coriander and mint, finely chopped1 tbsp sesame seeds1 fat red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
For rolling
FlourGround polenta or semolina
To assemble
6 tbsp hummus90g feta cheeseSeeds of 1 small pomegranate
Method:
Make a basic bread dough by mixing together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar. Add the water and bring together into a scraggy ball of dough.
Turn out on the counter and knead for about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, or use a freestanding mixer with dough hook attachment, on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, rolling it in the oil to coat it, then allow to rise until doubled in size – about 1–2 hours, depending on the heat of the kitchen.
Make the topping by mixing the lamb, garlic, sumac, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, coriander, mint, sesame seeds, and chilli in a bowl, squeezing together with your hands.
Place the pizza stone (or baking sheet) in the oven and heat to 250°C/220°C fan (gas as high as it will go)
When the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and divide into 6 equal portions – weighing if necessary. Dust the worktop liberally with flour and polenta or semolina, and roll out a dough portion to about 18cm diameter.
Dust a baking sheet very liberally with more flour and polenta/semolina, then place the disc of dough on it – make sure that the disc of dough moves freely and doesn’t stick to the sheet before continuing.
Spread 1 tbsp hummus over the dough disc, leaving 1cm free around the edge. Take one-sixth of the filling and spread on top of the hummus. Crumble over one-sixth of the feta cheese, then slide the lahmacun off the baking sheet and on to the hot pizza stone/baking sheet. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the edges have puffed up and the base is done.
Repeat with the remaining dough, filling and cheese
When the lahmacun recipe is baked, scatter with pomegranate seeds. The simplest way to get the seeds out is to slice the fruit in half, then bash each half on the back with a wooden spoon, allowing the seeds to fall through your fingers into a bowl.