Karadeniz pide recipe: Black Sea boat-shaped pide with mince or cheese
Karadeniz pide is the boat-shaped bread of Turkey’s Black Sea coast: a long oval of soft dough with its edges folded over a filling of minced beef or melted cheese, baked in a very hot oven until crisp, then brushed with butter. In the Trabzon style it often comes with an egg cracked into the middle, which sets softly in the last few minutes of baking. It is cut into strips and shared straight from the board.
Pide is made all over Turkey, but the Black Sea region is often called its heartland, and Karadeniz pide shops are found in almost every town in the country. Istanbul.com’s guide to pide gives a sense of how many styles and fillings there are. This recipe gives you a mince pide and a cheese pide from one batch of dough, and both work in a domestic oven.
What is Karadeniz pide?
Karadeniz means Black Sea, so Karadeniz pidesi simply means Black Sea pide. It refers to the open, boat-shaped style with pointed ends, associated above all with Trabzon and the eastern Black Sea coast. Common fillings include kıymalı (minced meat), kaşarlı (cheese), kavurmalı (preserved fried lamb or beef), and combinations finished with egg. Lots of butter is part of the style, both brushed on the crust and melted into the filling.
Bafra, Çarşamba and other Black Sea styles
Further west along the coast, Samsun province has its own celebrated pides. Bafra pidesi is very long and thin and is baked closed, with the filling sealed inside, then slit and buttered after baking, as Cumhuriyet’s food pages describe. Nearby Çarşamba and Terme have their own versions too, each with loyal fans.
Ingredients
Makes 4 pides, serving 4. Use the mince filling for all four, the cheese for all four, or two of each.
For the dough
- 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1½ tsp fine salt
- 150ml lukewarm milk
- 150ml lukewarm water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the mince filling (kıymalı)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300g beef mince
- 1 medium onion (about 150g), finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato (about 100g), finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp pul biber (Turkish chilli flakes)
- A small handful of parsley, chopped
For the cheese filling (kaşarlı)
- 200g kaşar cheese, grated (or 100g mozzarella and 100g mild cheddar)
To finish
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing
- 4 eggs, for cracking into the centre (optional)
- 40g butter, melted, plus 4 small knobs to finish
How to make Karadeniz pide
1. Make the dough
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk, water and olive oil and bring together into a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled.
2. Cook the mince filling
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mince and cook over a high heat, breaking it up, for 8 minutes until browned and dry. Add the pepper, tomato, salt, pepper and pul biber and cook for 5 minutes more, until there is no liquid left. Stir in the parsley and leave to cool completely.
3. Heat the oven
Put two heavy baking trays or a pizza stone in the oven and heat to 250°C (230°C fan), or as hot as it goes, for at least 30 minutes.
4. Shape the pides
Divide the dough into 4 pieces of about 200g, shape into balls and rest for 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll each into a long oval about 35cm by 15cm. Spread a quarter of the mince or cheese down the middle, leaving a 2cm border. Fold the long edges in over the filling, then pinch and twist each end into a point to make a boat shape, leaving the centre open.
5. Bake
Transfer the pides to sheets of baking paper and brush the dough edges with the egg glaze. Slide onto the hot trays and bake for 10–12 minutes, until golden and crisp underneath. If adding an egg, crack it into the centre of each pide after 7–8 minutes and return to the oven for 3–4 minutes, until the white has just set.
6. Butter and serve
As soon as they come out of the oven, brush the crusts with melted butter and drop a knob of butter into the centre of each pide to melt into the filling. Cut across into strips and serve hot.
Watch: how to make Karadeniz pide
This video shows how pide dough is stretched, filled and folded into its boat shape.
Tips for the best Karadeniz pide
- Cool the filling completely. Warm filling softens the dough and gives you a soggy base.
- Cook the mince until dry. Any liquid left in the pan will end up in the bread.
- Get the oven and trays as hot as possible. Pide bakeries use wood-fired ovens at very high temperatures, so a long preheat matters.
- Do not overfill. A thin, even layer bakes through and lets the crust stay crisp.
- Be generous with butter at the end. It is what gives Black Sea pide its rich, glossy finish.
- Pide dough can be made the night before and left to rise slowly in the fridge; bring it to room temperature before shaping.
What to serve with Karadeniz pide
In a pide salonu (pide house), pide often comes with a bowl of mercimek çorbası and a simple shepherd’s salad of tomato, cucumber, onion and parsley. Order or bake a couple of lahmacun alongside for a proper spread, drink ayran with it, and finish with a cold bowl of sütlaç.
Where to eat Karadeniz pide in London
London’s pide houses bake to order in stone or wood-fired ovens, and many make both pide and lahmacun. Find one in our pide and lahmacun listings, or read our guide to the best lahmacun and pide in London.
- TANDIR – Turkish home cooking in Palmers Green
- Taş Fırın Shoreditch – Turkish meze & fine dining in Shoreditch & Hoxton
- Antep Taş Fırın Edmonton – Turkish pide & lahmacun in Edmonton
- Adana Green Lane Ilford – Turkish ocakbaşı & grill in Ilford
- Pide & Co – Turkish gözleme & mantı in Bloomsbury & Holborn
- Mangal Turkish Pizza – Turkish kebab & döner in Dalston & Stoke Newington
See all 45 Pide & Lahmacun places in London
Karadeniz pide FAQs
What is the difference between pide and lahmacun?
Pide is thicker, boat-shaped and has its filling held in by folded edges, often with cheese, egg or butter. Lahmacun is very thin and round, covered edge to edge with a raw spiced meat paste and rolled up to eat.
What cheese is used for pide?
Kaşar, a mild, semi-hard Turkish cheese that melts well, is the usual choice and is sold in Turkish grocers. A mix of mozzarella and mild cheddar is a good substitute.
Can I freeze pide?
Yes. Freeze baked pide (without egg) once cool, wrapped well. Reheat from frozen at 200°C (180°C fan) for 8–10 minutes. You can also freeze the dough after the first rise.
Can I make pide without milk?
Yes. Replace the milk with more water. The dough will be slightly less soft and rich but still bakes well.
Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
