Turkish Pide Bread (Ramazan Pidesi)
Nov 25, 2020, Updated May 21, 2021
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Turkish pide bread is a traditional no knead flatbread that’s fluffy and so easy to make. Fresh out of the oven, this bread is fluffy and perfect with some cheese.
You know my love for homemade bread. From traditional Persian barbari and simit to lavash and pita bread, I love having fresh bread on the table everyday. I guess that’s a trait I picked up from being raised in Iran and living in Turkey. Bread is a staple of our culture and cuisine, is always respected and rarely wasted.
Table of Contents
Turkish pide bread – Ramazan pidesi – A classic Turkish flatbread
There are bakeries in every corner of Istanbul. The smell of freshly baked simit and other types of bread such as bazlama is so mesmerizing that it’s almost impossible to not walk into each and every bakery to grab a loaf of bread.
Ramazan pidesi is a classic Turkish bread that’s a bit similar to Persian barbari. It’s common to find it through the holy month of Ramadan in Turkey. People who practice fasting during the month of Ramadan usually break their fast with this bread.
Pide is soft and fluffy on the inside and to keep it fresh and soft, I usually cover it with wet paper towels right out of the oven. I love having this bread for breakfast. However, it makes a great addition to any main dish as well.
The ingredients
To make this pide bread recipe, you need a few ingredients which you probably already have on hand.
- Milk – Unlike many bread recipes that only use water, this recipe also calls for warm milk which makes this bread very soft. You can use whole milk or 2% milk for this recipe.
- Instant dry yeast – You don’t need to bloom it in advance. Simply add it to all the ingredients. However, if using active dry yeast, bloom it in the warm water with sugar first and then proceed with the recipe.
- Egg – We are going to use the white in the dough and the yolk for the glaze.
- Bread flour – Bread flour has a higher protein content, which makes the bread more chewy. Alternatively, you can use all purpose flour.
- Yogurt – When mixed with egg yolk, it adds a nice color to the bread.
How to make Turkish pide bread
Make the dough
In a large bowl whisk milk, water, olive oil, sugar, salt, instant dry yeast and egg white. Add the flour one cup at a time and mix using a spoon until all is combined, do not overmix. The dough will be tacky and sticky. Cover and let it rise for 40 minutes.
Shape the dough
Sprinkle the surface generously with flour. Transfer the dough to the surface. Shape it into a boule. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
Prepare the glaze and final shaping
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl mix egg yolk, yogurt and water.
Place the dough on the baking sheet. Spoon some of the glaze on the dough and with your fingers, spread into an oval shape with about 1/2 inch thickness.
Using your fingers, first make indentations on the dough about 1 inch from the edge to make a circle. Then with your fingers make diagonal indentations in two different directions to make diamonds inside that circle. Top with sesame seeds and nigella seeds.
Bake the bread
Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden on top. Once out of the oven, you can keep the bread covered to keep it soft.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this bread as part of breakfast with cheese, labneh, butter, jam and all the other fixings. It also goes very well with all kinds of egg dishes such as menemen, cilbir (Turkish eggs and yogurt), or nargesi (Persian spinach and eggs).
You can also serve it with main dishes such as ground beef stew and red lentil soup.
But essentially, this is the bread used to make iskender kebab. Basically, day old pide is torn, topped with doner kebab and a delicious tomato sauce and is served with yogurt, absolutely delicious!
Frequently asked questions
Store this bread in a plastic bag or a bread bag and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can refrigerate Turkish pide bread for up to a week as well.
It’s possible to substitute 1/3 amount of flour with whole wheat flour to make this bread.
I don’t advise using more whole wheat flour since it’s a “denser” type of flour and would change the texture unless you change the ratios of the liquids as well which will call for a few more rounds of testing.
You probably have added more flour than needed. Add enough flour so the dough comes together but is still sticky (check out the video). Too much flour will make the dough denser and the bread harder.
Yes. Make the dough and let it rise. Then divide it into 8 balls (or 2 balls if you’re making large loaves). Cover them and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Let the dough balls come to room temperature before baking them.
Notes and tips
- Make 2 large loaves instead of 8 small ones: It’s common to make large Turkish pide bread as well. To do so, cut the dough into 2 pieces instead of 8 and proceed with the recipe as instructed. Bake at 400ºF for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden.
- It’s important to cover the pide with damp paper towel once it’s out of the oven to keep it soft.
- To reheat the bread, sprinkle very little water on the bread and heat in the oven at 250ºF for 5 to10 minutes.
- Make sure to brush the dough balls with the glaze as it would make rolling out the dough much easier. You don’t need to use a rolling pin to roll out the dough.
More Turkish recipes
Turkish Recipes
Turkish Simit (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
Mediterranean recipes
Turkish Bulgur Pilaf Recipe
Fall Recipe
Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Corbasi)
Mediterranean recipes
Turkish Vegan Lentil Balls (Mercimek Köftesi)
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Turkish Pide Bread (Ramazan Pidesi)
Ingredients
Yogurt Egg Glaze
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds, to top
- 2 tbsp nigella seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix milk, water, olive oil, sugar, salt, instant dry yeast and egg white.
- Add the flour in batches and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. The dough will be tacky and there is no need to knead it.
- Cover and let it sit in a draft free space such as an off oven for 40 minutes to rise.
- Sprinkle your surface with flour. Transfer the dough from the bowl to the surface and shape it into a boule. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a parchment paper.
- Mix the egg yolk, yogurt and water in a small bowl and set aside. This will be your glaze.
- Place the dough on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with some of the glaze and using your fingers, spread the dough into an oval shape with 1/2 inch thickness.
- Using your fingers, make indentations on the dough about 1 inch from the edge to make a circle. Then with your fingers make diagonal indentations in two different directions to make diamonds inside that circle. Top with sesame seeds and nigella seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the bread is golden.
Video
Notes
- You can use all purpose or bread flour for this recipe. If using whole wheat flour, only replace 1/3 of the flour amount with it.
- To reheat the bread, sprinkle very little water on the bread and heat in the oven at 250ºF for 5 to10 minutes.
- Make sure to brush the dough balls with the glaze as it would make shaping out the dough much easier. You don’t need to use a rolling pin to roll out the dough.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I always order these when out so I thought I would try making them myself. They were amazing So easy to make.
Does the milk have to be whole? Or, can you replace with other kinds of milk (and/or 2%)?
You can use other kinds of milk.
Tried this recipe today. Easy and super delicious. Will make it again. My bread has yeasty flavour. Feels like lot of yeast in it. Should I increase sugar to overcome yeast flavour? I followed instructions. Only difference is I let dough rest for two to three hours before making balls.
Hi Sidrah, letting the dough rest for more than what is mentioned in the recipe has caused the bread to taste more yeasty than it’s supposed to.
This was a super easy, super delicious recipe. One of my sons said that this is now his favourite homemade bread that I’ve made thus far. Thank you so much.
I presume this bread can freeze and I just take out the loaves and let it thaw naturally, no?
Thank you Natalie and I’m glad you like this recipe! Yes, simply let it thaw naturally and toast it if desired 🙂
This is very good bread! I tried it yesterday and it came out beautiful and yummy! I made a batch and my husband, kid and his friends polished it off and said it was very yummy! Definitely a keeper. I also did one thing- i sprinkled little crumbled cheese and dill into the dough and a little on the top as i didn’t have the sesame seeds. I’d eaten a turksih bread that was this fluffy and soft but had a filling of cheese in it and so tried it out like this.
Thanks for this post! Im so interested in trying out all your other recipes in this website!
These look absolutely amazing. Almost like a pretzel bread with that beautiful coloring on the outside.
This bread looks so festive and delicious. It’s super easy to make too. This recipe is definitely going on my to-try list. Thanks for sharing.
Goodness, what a beautiful bread! I appreciated learning from you how to form this bread– it is eyecatching and must be as much of a joy to make as it would be to eat!
Such a pretty bread and a unique shape too. Can’t wait to make these.
Thank you! They’re easy and so delicious!
These were delicious with honey and feta. Definitely making another batch for my dad who is also persian and fluent in turkish 😉 You can’t be homemade bread.
Hi Clara! Yes, I love these with cream (kaymak) and honey too. So good!