Kasarli Pide (Turkish Cheese Pide)
The ultimate Turkish comfort food: boat-shaped pide loaded with melted kasar cheese, finished with butter and an optional egg. Simple dough, spectacular result.
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Ingredients
500g flour, plus extra for dusting
10g instant dry yeast
1 tsp sugar and 300ml lukewarm water
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil for the dough
400g kasar or kashkaval cheese, grated
100g fresh cheddar-style cheese, grated, for extra stretch
40g butter, melted, for brushing
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk, for the edges
1 tsp nigella seeds, to sprinkle (optional)
4 eggs for kasarli yumurtali version (optional)
Chopped parsley, to finish
Instructions
- 1
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water and leave for 5 minutes until foamy. Mix the flour and salt, add the yeast water and olive oil, and knead for 8-10 minutes to a smooth, soft dough. Cover and prove for about 1 hour, until doubled.
- 2
Heat the oven to 250C (or its maximum) with a baking tray or pizza stone inside. Toss the two grated cheeses together in a bowl.
- 3
Divide the dough into 4, rest for 10 minutes, then roll each piece on a floured surface into a thin oval about 30cm long.
- 4
Pile the cheese down the middle of each oval, leaving a 2cm border. Fold the long sides in over the edge of the cheese and pinch the ends into sharp points to form the boat shape.
- 5
Brush the edges with the egg yolk and milk mixture and scatter over the nigella seeds. Slide onto the hot tray and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is molten with bubbling golden spots.
- 6
For the egg version, pull the pide out 4 minutes before the end, crack an egg into the centre of the cheese and return to the oven until the white is just set.
- 7
Brush the crusts with melted butter, scatter with parsley, slice crossways and serve immediately while the cheese still stretches.
If kiymali pide is the meat lover's choice, kasarli pide is pure comfort: a thin boat of soft dough filled edge to edge with kasar, Turkey's beloved melting cheese. In the oven the cheese turns molten and bubbly with golden patches, while the pinched crust bakes crisp and gets a glossy brush of butter at the end.
Kasar is similar to a young kashkaval or a mild, elastic cheddar, and blocks of it from brands like Yayla and Pinar are easy to order in the UK. Grate it rather than slicing so it melts evenly, and do not skimp - a proper kasarli pide is generous. For the classic pide salonu upgrade, crack an egg into the middle for the last few minutes of baking (kasarli yumurtali).
You can find kasar-style kashkaval, Turkish flour, yeast and nigella seeds at Turkish Online Market with delivery across the UK. Serve hot with cold ayran, olives and a shake of pul biber, and eat it while the cheese still pulls into strings.
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