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Sfiha served with fresh parsley and salad
Authentic Middle Eastern Sfiha with beef filling

Sfiha (Open Meat Pies)

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses Starters
Sfiha (a cousin of lahmacun) is the Levant's answer to pizza, though much older. These open meat pies are symbols of communal eating: spicy, lemony, tomato minced meat baking on a thin, crispy dough. Its uniqueness is that the meat ragu cooks together with the dough, so the dough instantly absorbs the releasing juices, making every bite incredibly tasty.
🕒 Prep Time 1 hr
🍳 Cook Time 20 mins
⌛ Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 420 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Middle Eastern

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Proving bowl
  • Baking tray
  • Rolling pin

Allergen Information

⚠️ Cereals containing gluten
⚠️ Nuts (pine nuts)

Instructions

1 ✓

Knead dough from flour, yeast, water, salt, and oil. Leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.

Tip: Developing a flexible gluten network is important so the dough can be rolled thin.
2 ✓

Mix the RAW minced meat with the grated onion, tomato, lemon juice, and spices.

Tip: In the original recipe, the meat goes onto the dough raw! The lemon juice 'pre-cooks' the meat slightly and adds freshness.
3 ✓

Squeeze excess liquid out of the meat mixture.

Tip: If the filling is too wet, it makes the dough soggy and it won't bake crisp.
4 ✓

Divide dough into balls, roll into thin circles. Spread the meat ragu in the centres, fold up the edges into a boat or triangle shape.

Tip: Press the meat into the dough with your finger so it doesn't fall off.
5 ✓

Bake at 220°C (or on a pizza stone) for 12-15 minutes until the dough is golden brown and meat is cooked.

Tip: High heat cooks the dough and thin meat layer quickly.

Recipe FAQ

Why no cheese?
Sfiha is not pizza. The taste of the spicy meat and dough is the point; cheese would just make it heavy and suppress the freshness of the lamb and lemon.

Ingredients

  • 500 g strong white bread flour
  • 7 g dried yeast
  • 300 ml lukewarm water
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 300 g minced lamb (or beef)
  • 1 head onion (grated)
  • 2 whole tomatoes (finely chopped)
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts (optional)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp seven spice mix (or cinnamon, allspice, pepper)