Gozleme!! Crispy, golden Turkish flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of tasty fillings. Choose from Spinach and Feta, or spiced Beef or Lamb. I want them all!
Like everybody’s favourite Easy Flatbreads recipe, the Gozleme pastry requires no yeast, just 3 ingredients (no yogurt) and is very easy to work with. You’re going to fall in love with this recipe!
Gozleme recipe
Weekend markets wouldn’t be the same without Turkish Gozleme stands. Sturdy Turkish Mamas with powerful arms rolling out the dough, and pretty young ladies front of house, smiling charmingly at customers.
Total stereotype there. But it’s a very effective marketing strategy!! 😂
If you’re new to Gozleme, all you need to know is this: they are olive oil flavoured flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of fillings. The most popular ones are Spinach and Feta, spiced ground lamb / beef (mince), and potato (carb on carb 👌🏻).
Pan fried until golden and crispy, then cut into grabbable-size pieces with lemon wedges on the side, there’s a reason why Gozleme stands often have the longest lines at weekend markets – because everybody loves them!!!
The Gozleme dough
Gozleme pastry is possible the easiest flatbread in the world because:
it’s traditionally made without yeast;
only requires 4 ingredients: flour, olive oil, salt and water
“dump and mix” job using a stand mixer or food processor
the dough is very easy to work with – easy to roll out (unlike rock hard fridge-cold Quiche pastry!), to pull and stretch into the shape that you want, and patch up accidental tears. 🙂
“If you’re new to making your own flatbreads, this is a great one to start with! The gozleme dough is very forgiving and easy to handle when rolling out.”
I typically make 4 Gozlemes from each batch of dough, though it can easily stretch to 5.
Gozleme Fillings
I’m sharing two fillings today:
Spinach and Feta, and
Lamb or Beef spiced ground meat filling. Though chicken, pork and turkey could be used too.
Just a note: I stuff my Gozleme way more generously than the Turkish Mamas at the Gozleme stands. I figure if we’re going to the effort of making our own, we shouldn’t skimp on fillings!!
Spinach and Feta Filling for Gozleme
The Spinach and Feta filling has nothing ground breaking in it. Egg for binding, garlic for flavour and pepper. (Ignore the salt in the photo, it’s not required!!)
The one little trick I’ve adopted over the years is to scrunch the spinach to wilt it down slightly. It makes it much easier to stuff the flatbread when the spinach is compacted down. Trying to enclose a huge pile of green fluffage with thin pastry is not fun.
Lamb or Beef Gozleme Filling
I told you I like to be generous with my fillings….. so while the traditional minced meat Gozleme usually has just a very thin scattering of meat with little more than a bit of onion, I like to fill mine out with all sorts of extras.
Increase the volume, more texture, add colour and more flavour!
Wrapping & cooking
Don’t be intimidated by this part! It’s really not difficult – and as I said, we’re working with a friendly dough here. The step photos below are fairly self explanatory, but here are a few tips:
Don’t make them too big – just because the Turkish Mamas at the gozleme stand make theirs the size of extra large pizzas, doesn’t mean you should! Large gozleme = difficult to transfer to skillet and flip. Remember, they’ve been doing it for 40 years….
Press out air pockets = no trapped heat ballooning = flatter = crispier
Transfer to skillet – slide onto a pizza paddle or similar, then slide into the skillet. Once cooked, it’s crisp enough to scoop up with a spatula – you’ll see in the recipe video!
Make sure they fit comfortably in the skillet! I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve had half a gozleme hanging out of the pan…. 😂
Don’t skimp on oil – if you want the crispiest, most golden pastry, now is not the time to be counting calories! (Besides, remember that olive oil is better for you!)
Though traditionally served with lemon wedges, hand on heart, I have never used them. (And I’ve had my fair share of Gozleme in my life time!). They are great as they are, hot off the stove.
In my world, these are a summertime BBQ favourite. Terrific to cook these on the flat side of the BBQ – plus there’s more space than a skillet so you can cook multiple gozlemes at the same time.
And the extra bonus (because we all secretly love this part😈) – everyone is always so impressed. It’s just not something that most people think about making at home.
I’ve used the word “crisp” alot in this post. So I’m going to leave you with this image. Crispy crispy juicy stuffed Lamb Stuffed Gozleme.
Or – wait. Was it beef?? There’s been a lot of gozleme around here in recent weeks. So I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter. BOTH are equally delicious!!~ Nagi x
Gozleme recipe
Watch how to make it
Note: I forgot to press record when putting water into the dough, oops! Follow written recipe below.
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Gozleme!!
Ingredients
Gozleme pastry:
- 2.5 cups (375g) flour , plain/all purpose (GF Note 4)
- 1/3 cup (85ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup (185ml) water
- 1/2 tsp salt
Choose ONE Filling (Note 1)
Spinach & Feta:
- 300g / 10oz baby spinach
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 300g / 10 oz Danish feta (soft feta, Note 2)
- 2 cups (200g) shredded mozzarella cheese (Note 3)
Spiced Lamb or Beef:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 500g / 1 lb beef or lamb mince (ground)
- 1 capsicum / bell pepper , chopped
- 90g / 3 oz baby spinach
- 1.5 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (adjust spiciness to taste)
- 3/4 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp water
- 120g / 4 oz Danish feta (Note 2)
Cooking / Serving:
- 1 – 1.5 tbsp olive oil , per gozleme
- Lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions
Pastry:
- Fit stand mixer with dough hook. Combine flour, oil, salt and water in the stand mixer bowl. Mix for 2.5 minutes on medium high speed 7 until smooth (see video for before & after). (Note 4) Dough should be a pliable, smooth ball, not sticky.
- Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough into 4 pieces.
- Roll out into 35cm/14″ x 20cm/8″ rectangle.
Filling:
- Make EITHER the lamb / beef Filling, or Spinach & Feta (or make 1/2 batch of both!).
Lamb or Beef Filling:
- Heat oil in large skillet over high heat.
- Cook garlic and onion for 1 minute. Add capsicum, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add beef and cook until it changes from pink to brown, breaking it up as you go.
- Add cumin, paprika, cayenne (if using), salt, pepper and water. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add spinach, stir until wilted.
- Cool before using.
Spinach Feta Filling:
- Place spinach, garlic, egg and pepper in a bowl. Scrunch with hands to reduce volume and make spinach “floppy”.
- Add feta and stir through.
Making Gozleme:
- Spread Filling on half the pastry, pushing to the edge. Sprinkle Lamb/Beef Filling with crumbled feta. Sprinkle Spinach Feta with mozzarella cheese, if using.
- Fold other side of pastry over to cover Filling. Press down edges, pressing out excess air pockets trapped inside as you go. Use water if needed to seal well.
- Sprinkle flour on a round pizza paddle (or similar). Slide gozleme onto paddle.
Cooking:
- Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. (I usually get 2 pans going)
- Slide gozleme into skillet. Cook, lightly pressing down (including edges), until deep golden and crispy – about 3 minutes. Flip and cook, pressing down lightly, until crispy.
Serving:
- Transfer to cutting board. Cut into 6 or 8 pieces.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
- Cooked gozleme should be eaten asap while hot and crispy!
- Dough can be kept for 3 to 4 days in fridge
- Do not keep filled uncooked gozleme in fridge – inside sweats and makes underside of dough soggy
- Best way to keep warm while you keep cooking is in 120C/250F oven ON A RACK not on a baking tray (hot gozleme sweats and underside gets soggy)
- Cooked gozleme can be frozen or kept in fridge – cool, wrap, put in container
- Reheat either by pan frying or on tray in oven at 180C/350F for 7 minutes or so
Nutrition Information:
More tasty things stuffed between crispy bread
Life of Dozer
Dog treat. Everybody say together – “That’s sooooooo Asian!”
I think mine were too thick. Looked uncooked inside but super crispy outside. How thick is your dough?
Oh my goodness, just made these and my tastebuds are still tingling with delight. I’ve never made this type of dough before, but, as promised, it was easy to work with. Fantastic recipe, thank you, Nagi,
Yum! I cheated and used store brought flat bread and a sandwich press to reheat the bread! Child has asked for it again!
I LOVE this receipe! So little effort but you get that moment when you go…wow I made that farmers market favourite and it’s yum! Works great on the bbq for an easy weekend dinner with friends as well.
This is my go to recipe for the most delicious Gozleme. I used to buy it at the markets but since I made this, I can’t enjoy it as much. Add this recipe is delicious and perfect for using up my leftovers like qeema and aloo Ki bhujia. I just add some crunchy elements like chopped onion herbs and capsicum. But if I don’t have leftovers I use the recipes provided above.
Nagi is simply the best!
Three kids, varying ages and food preferences so it always thrills me when I find a recipe that they all like! Goes down a treat every time. I make extra to take care of lunch for my non-sandwich eating son. I use to do the dough by hand but now have a stand mixer which makes it even easier.
Whilst my gozleme don’t look as pretty as Nagi’s, they sure taste delicious. On regular rotation at my house
We live the spinach & feta version. Easily converts to gluten free thx Nagi
I just can’t fault any of your recipes Nagi! Another winner. It didn’t go to plan for me, they were supposed to be Friday dinner but we have a newborn so I got the lamb mince cooked Friday, the dough prepped Saturday (bunged it in the fridge overnight) and they ended up as late Sunday lunch … they were absolutely delicious. This recipe is bulletproof. We skipped the mozzarella and a big squeeze of fresh lemon was a definite from everyone. Spinach was our favourite. Going to be a monthly treat here.
Even though mine came out pretty ugly and thicker than in the pics, they were sooooooo delicious. I made the spinach/feta ones. Next time, I have to make sure that after I wash the spinach, I dry it completely and that I use the mixture as soon as I’ve mixed it. I let it sit for a bit because I got a phone call mid-cook, and there was a big puddle of water at the bottom of my spinach bowl and I needed to squeeze out the spinach and the feta. Also, I wasn’t very fast with the rolling and stuffing, so in between gozlemes, I had to take my pan off the stove so that I wouldn’t burn the house down. Next time, I need to be more efficient. Thanks for yet another delicious recipe!
I’ve made the Beef Gozleme delicious. Want to freeze them cooked was wondering when I want to eat them would I thaw them then put in oven to crisp up or put in oven frozen.
I made a double batch of dough and did one batch with spinach/feta filling (using spinach mustard greens from the garden) and one with a sauteed onion and sauerkraut filling (I was originally planning to make knishes, but all filled dough dishes are cousins, right?). I never felt like my dough got as smooth as the video dough, but it was very easy to work with nevertheless. I can’t do all the steps for filled dough in one day, so I made the dough on day 1, washed and cut my greens on day 2, then mixed the filling and rolled/filled/cooked on day 3. Dough was no trouble from the fridge, and stood up to rolling out very thin. I rolled out in two stages–first to about half the final size, then let rest while I did the other pieces, then roll out all the way. They were delicious, and even my greens-avoiding 2-year-old ate a piece of the spinach one without picking the greens out. So I guess I’ll have to make them again. I think I’ll stick to a single batch in the future, though. Rolling out nine was a lot for one day.
Made feta/spinach , made it with frozen spinach…it was ok, not amazing!
Vika, the spinach plays such a big role in this dish that I think fresh spinach, or another fresh green, is crucial for wow results. The cooking it gets is quite light, so it should be fresh tasting and springy, but frozen spinach is already watery and mushy.
Purely out of laziness, has anyone tried baking these? Then maybe pan fry to reheat?
Fabulous. My 10 year old son made this for the family tonight. The only change we made was swapping out the capsicum for grated carrot. It was awesome!! We all thoroughly enjoyed it with a squeeze of lemon.
Hi Nagi! I made this a few days ago. We had to substitute the dairy products as my husband is lactose intolerance but my husband LOVED it. We have a request for it again. I made the pastry the night before and it was amazing the next day. P.S def taste better the next day too when all the flavours have enhanced in. thanks for the recipe.
These are absolutely delicious!
This was the first Recipetineats recipe I tried & is my absolutely favourite! I usually make 2 Spinach & 2 Lamb & freeze what’s not eaten. The best food for when we get home Sunday evening from a weekend away. Microwave a bit then fry to make it crispy. Yummo!
This recipe was great, made both types! Also had some leftover doug and ended up making a flatbread pizza, came out wonderful!
Could I use chicken mince instead and maybe herbs such as oregano/ thyme/smoked paprika?