Sfiha

Growing up, Fridays were special days for us as the whole family flocked to my grandmother's house for the big family lunch which always ended up with dinner and was filled with cooking, chatting, playing cards and backgammon and laughing. Of course, with big family lunches come big table spreads of Damascene signature comfort food dishes.

Since my grandmother's demise, those fun big family Fridays ceased but were instead replaced with our own small family Friday lunches. On some Fridays, my mother and father would want to take a break from cooking. They would order from my uncle's restaurant/butcher shop sheet pan beef (Lahmeh bil Seniyeh), a staple Damascene dish or Sfiha. It was ordered with either beef, yoghurt and pomegranate molasses topping with meat, tomatoes and pomegranate molasses.

We would wait anxiously for my father to walk into the house with this big package wrapped in newspapers. The table would be set and ready with an array of pickles, salad and yoghurt.

Sfiha is the meat pizza of Syria with a super-thin crust which I adore. In the Levant it is called sfiha and Manaeesh, in Turkey they have lahmajoun, Egypt has feteer, and the list goes on. What binds them all together is that they all share the same technique using leavened dough with a difference in toppings.

I know that preparing this at home may seem like a complicated and daunting task to make but trust me when I say:" it is so easy and the method I use for proofing the dough makes the process even more relaxed".

Give it a go and tell me about the experience.

Servings: 30 pieces

Resting dough: 12 to 24 hours

Time to prepare: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the dough

4 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons yoghurt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water

For the topping:

250 grams ground beef

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup fresh tomato puree

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 1/2 teaspoons 7 spice

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1/4 cup pine nut

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method:

· Preheat oven to 250 C fan setting and if you have the option, also the lower part of the oven. If using a pizza stone, make sure it is preheated for at least 45 minutes before baking the sfiha on the lowest shelf of the oven if you have the option for heating that level.

· For preparing the dough, there are 2 choices, either to manually knead the dough for 10 minutes or so or as I prefer using the mixer with the dough hook attachment for ease and speed.

· Place all the ingredients in the mixer bowl, close and beat for 5 minutes following the manufacturers recommended speed setting for beating dough. When the 5 minutes have passed, the mixture may seem sticky, don’t panic as that is precisely how you want it to be. Sticky, soft and pliable.

· Grease a glass bowl with olive oil and place the ball of dough in it, this will prevent it from sticking. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 12 to 14 hours or so. Or leave it somewhere warm until it doubles in size.

· For the topping mix all ingredients together until homogenised and wet, if still firm add more pureed tomato.

· Remove from fridge and leave in a warm place for a few hours or until the dough doubles in size.

· Flour a wooden board and work the dough with your hands beating, pulling and folding for a few minutes then divide into 30 balls and let them rest 10 minutes covered.

· Flour the surface of the ball and roll to a thickness of 2 to 3 mm in an oval shape, place on a baking tray lined with grease paper or on grease paper if using the pizza stone. Top with a thin layer of the beef mix.

· Bake in the tray on the lower shelf of the oven. Or place directly on the pizza stone for about 5 to 7 minutes until golden.

· Serve with plain yoghurt.

Notes:

· Instant yeast reacts with water faster than dry yeast hence my preference, but if you only have dry yeast make sure you combine it with the warm water and honey, stir it and let it rest for 10 minutes until it creates a foam on the surface.

· Proofing the dough in the fridge improves the flavour and texture of the dough due to slow process of the yeast fermenting.

· Try to roll the sfiha as thin as you can.

Per Serving: 127 Calories; 5g Fat (37.9% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 363mg Sodium.