Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Market Favourite Creates Splash At Home

Slice

What? Another yeast concoction?

Yes, that's right, I am finally getting my yeast legs, and just like like that little mound of dough that expands and increases in size, more and more my confidence with working with yeast is growing. I've never been happier. I've never had this much repeated success with yeast before, it's unprecedented!

Now I know how it really feels to work that pliable dough in your very own hands, kneading, pulling and stretching those protein strands to elasticity, wow. I know it sounds awfully food-geeky of me but it was really thrilling, I can see why bakers are so willing to get up so early for their craft, this dough-business is definitely worth it.

Workin' the dough

Okay, okay, I promise I will start to control my elation; I can feel most of you are slowly starting to back away from the crazy girl enthusing fanatically about dough and yeast. I'm dropping the ball of dough and my hands are up in the air.

These new yeasty concoctions are Turkish Gozlemes, which are basically filled flat breads that are folded over and grilled on an oiled hotplate. If you go to any of the Sydney markets or festivals you will have most probably seen them there. They are ubiquitous; every event you attend, they seem to have a stand. And not that I am complaining because it is probably one of the cheapest most satisfying feeds you can get. And the great thing is you can even eat it standing up and there's plenty to share. Not that I have ever had to share, we all seem to understand that we get our own plate and are responsible for polishing off that entire plateful and no one has ever complained about it.

Stacked

You watch those robust Turkish ladies rolling, folding, grilling those gozlemes, and it is almost mesmerising. Like a well-oiled machine their gozleme production line churns out one flat bread after another for the ravenous mob that still continue to queue up even when the line snakes past a few other other stalls. That picture is all too familiar because it seems to be the same thing at every market at every stall, hordes and hordes of people lining up for these beauties.

Well what if you wanted to make them at home? Skip the middle man, skip the long wait and cavalcade of other flat bread admirers. Can you get the same result, minus the Turkish ladies? My answer is yes indeed.

Turkish Gozleme- Spinach and Feta

I never knew how easy it was to make these market favourites at home. Fair enough, the process might be a little labour intensive, as you have to roll out the dough and fill and grill every single one, but it is worth all that effort. And even when the effort expended to make the gozlemes far exceeds the effort it takes to eat them, they are still worth it.

Okay, now that I have told you about the gozlemes, let's have another look at that dough. Isn't she lovely? I still can't believe, it was I that made it.

Dough

Spinach and Feta Gozleme

Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas, February 2006
Serves 4

Turkish Gozleme- Spinach and Feta

3 cups “00” Italian flour
8g sachet instant dried yeast
pinch of salt
1 tsp caster sugar
1/3 cup olive oil (see tip)
1 bunch English spinach
200g feta cheese, crumbled
lemon wedges, to serve

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
Add 300ml tepid water and olive oil and stir with a fork until the liquid has taken up all the flour.
Knead the dough for 5 minutes until elastic and form into a ball.
Place back into the bowl and cover with plastic film.
Stand in a warm place and allow the dough to prove for 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has proved, cut the ball into four portions. Keep the dough you aren’t using under cover.
Roll each piece of dough out into a circle the size of a large dinner plate.
Place a quarter of the spinach over half of the circle and then top with feta.
Fold the dough over and enclose the filling by pinching the edges together.
Preheat a flat hotplate, or a large frypan on medium-high heat.
Brush the bottom of the gozleme with olive oil and place on the hotplate.
Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the dough becomes crisp and golden brown.
Turn over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cut the gozleme into 6 pieces using a pizza cutter.
Serve with lemon wedges.

Tip: Try rice bran oil instead of olive oil. This versatile oil is high in antioxidants and cholesterol-lowering plant sterols.

34 comments:

Mari said...

good job! i too had an irrational fear of yeast, which i finally overcame last winter. how cool is it to tame a lovely ball of yeasty dough, eh?

Kalyn Denny said...

I'm very impressed, and they look delicious!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Jenjen, I love working with yeast and totally understand your obsession. :)

Deborah said...

I have never heard of this, but I want some!!

Anonymous said...

Yum! Filled breads like this are so great :) I like working the dough too...so therapeutic :)

Orchidea said...

You gave me a perfect idea for tonight... I did not know what to cook and I happen to have exactly all the ingredients.
Thanks.
Ciao.

Pip said...

I never tried Gozleme but it looks delicious! By the way, very nice blog, I just linked you! :)

Anonymous said...

OMG - these look so delicious - I am making these this weekend!

L

Anonymous said...

Nice one! I love getting these when i visit the Moore Park market. Yours looks better, too, because it's less oily.

Squishy said...

I know what you mean about the dough, just the smell and feel of it is just satifying.

Anonymous said...

I'm definitely going to give these a go. Since my Pizza Dough Disaster of 2006, I have a bag of 00 flour and yeast that I haven't been game to use again.
-Lily J

Anita said...

Jen,
The photos are just gorgeous. And your creations look so delicious, I just want to grab one off the screen!

Anonymous said...

I used to make a similar pie with spinach, mozarella cheese and puff pastry. Will definately try the recipe. Been a while since i bake a pie. Wish me luck. Cheers

Katie said...

They look delicious and have been added to my 'to make' list.

Robyn said...

Hi! I'd really like to try this, but what is Italian flour? And can I get it in the States?

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Wow, that looks fabulously yummy! I love feta and spinach, so that's a speciality I'd surely love...

Freddie L Sirmans, Sr. said...

Just browsing the internet, your blog is very, very interesting.

Jerry said...

It looks like stuffed pizza and oh so yummy. This is so my next big project. :)

Anonymous said...

mmmm gozleme. i love! i am so lucky to live within walking distance to two great gozleme sources: Rozelle markets and Birkenhead Point shops.
yours look great!

leonine194 said...

i love the pictures & the recipe! really so yummy!

Jen said...

Mevrouw Cupcake- I can totally relate, isn't it just great to overcome that fear?

Kalyn- Thank You!

Patricia Scarpin- I'm glad I got over that whole fear of yeast and finally got into the game. I am completely obsessed now.

Deborah- Oh you must must try it!

Joey- I agree, I think it's one of the best ways to relieve stress.

Orchidea- Excellent! Can't wait to hear how it turns out.

Pip- Oh thank you : )

Lia- You will just love them!

Steph- Thanks I haven't tried the ones at Moore Park but I presume they are from the same people. I guess the great thing about making them at home, is you can control how much oil you can use.

Squishy- I couldn't agree more. Having a ball of dough in your hands is just so relaxing.

Anon- Awesome, I think it's time to put away the disaster of 2006 and move on to best dough you ever made!

Anita- Aww, thanks, coming from you that is a great compliment.

c2- Good Luck! And happy eating.

Katie- Good choice, I promise you won't regret it.

Robyn- I am fairly certain you can get Italian flour in the US, it just might be called something else. You can basically use any type of strong bread flour.
But if you can't find any, I don't really see the matter with using plain flour. You might even want to substitute with spelt or wholemeal flour.

Rosa- Isn't spinach and feta just one of those unbeatable combinations, perhaps like Batman and Robin?

Freddie- Thanks so much :)

Jerry- guess you could liken it to a calzone, except it much flatter.

Lindsey Clare- Oh lucky you, now you can even have it when you are at home!

Leonine194- Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jen!!!! OMG you're sooooo..... talented... working with dough takes a lot of skill right?!! I mean how do you not over-work the dough?!! I adore your blog ..it's definately one of the best around!!! Good job Jen!! keep us Aussies proud eh?!!!

Cheers
Cecilia

p.s.: me and my partner have been wondering how you look like!! we really wanna track you down someday in sydney!! lolz

TasteTV said...

It reminds me of the new flatbread craze going on...but well worth it

Kajal@aapplemint said...

Your dough looks just fantastic. I can imagine how happy you feel with your success with yeast, trust me , i'v been around there too ! And as for the Turkish Gozlemes ... yum yum ! This one i have to try .

Christine said...

I, too, love working with yeast doughs. Basically to know I created something with my own hands is a nice feeling.

Great recipe!

Anonymous said...

Yum. Turkish Spanikopita.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

These have got to be the best stuffed breads anywhere! Give me a little goat's cheese and I am a happy camper...add a little bread with it and I have died and gone to heaven!

Anonymous said...

I make these at home all the time (Darwin doesn't have gozleme at the markets yet). I use the sandwich press for lovely crispy result, non stick coating means less oil needed.

Linda said...

Jenjen,

Those gozlemes make me want to lick my screen! They look delicious!

On of my favourite things about baking with yeast is being able to use your hands and be able to feel it all through your fingers when you're kneading.

It's just a bugger when you don't use enough flour on your hands and it sticks EVERYWHERE! :)

Anonymous said...

That looks delicious... I often make a spinach and fetta filling with lemon zest, and put it in filo pastry with drizzled good olive oil.
Your recipe looks great... I will have to try it soon!

www.chocolateshavings.ca

Ali-K said...

Jenjen, it's not so much "you can even eat them standing up" as "you MUST eat them standing up" so any stray oily goodness can fall to the ground.
(did I say oily? everything in moderation I guess, but these are just so oily and soooo good from Glebe Markets).

Helene said...

I am so glad you are overcoming your fears of yeasts and other live cultures. Beautiful recipe, perfect for a light supper!

Anonymous said...

MMMmm this looks really good!

Anonymous said...

Hi ,

I just made Them for my Husband Turkish friends comming over tonight.. I use 4 Cups of four instead of 3 and made little thinner and come up with 12 .. I was wondering how big yours was exactly? mine where a little larger then dinner plates..